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AN EPITOME 



OF 



English History 



WITH 



Questions for Examination, 

B Y 

S. AGNES KUMMER. 



M xx 1 1 xx na in I? a. r v o , 






t BALTIMORE: 
JAMES S. WATERS, PUBLISHER. 
1866. 

V 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 

S. AGNES KUMMER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the Diftrict Court of Maryland. 



W. K. Boyle, Printer, Baltimore. 






PREFACE 



This little manual is offered to Teachers and Students 
of English History, with the hope that it may supply 
a want which the compiler has found unmet by any of 
the existing text-books. It is by no means designed to 
supersede the study of more comprehensive class-books of 
English History, but merely to act as a hand-maiden to 
them, by presenting in a condensed form the principal 
dates and facts which, when once fixed in the memory, 
will add greatly to the facility and enjoyment of more 
extended study. 

It was at first designed to limit the use of this little 
work solely to the pupils for whom it has been prepared, 
but the success which has attended its partial application 
in manuscript has induced its publication, in the hope that 
it may be profitable to others who are interested in this 
noble study. 

Edgeworth School, 

Baltimore, August 8th, 1866. 



AN EPITOME 



OF 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 



BRITAIN TO THE ROMAN INVASION. 

From Date Unknown to 55 B. C. 

This is the legendary period of British history. Britain 
was anciently called Albion; it was a desolate waste of 
marsh land and forest, and its inhabitants, whom tradi- 
tion says were descended from Brutus, a Trojan, were 
barbarians. The Phoenician merchants traded with the 
Britons for tin several centuries before the Christian era 
Shakspeare's "King Lear" was an ancient British monarch 
of this period. 



BRITAIN FROM THE ROMAN TO THE SAXON 
INVASION. 

55 B. C.—A. D. 449. 

Invasion of Britain by the Romans under Julius Caesar, 
55 B. C. Cassivelaunus or Caswallon was the leader of the 
Britons. 54 B. C. second invasion of Caesar who penetrated 
as far as Verulam, the modern St. Albans. 

For ninety-five years no other invasion was attempted, 
and the Britons lived in peaceful communication with Rome, 
but as free as if Caesar had never landed. 
2 



6 

The Druids were the priests of the Britons. At Stone- 
henge are the remains of a Druidical temple. Human 
sacrifices were a terrible feature of Druidical worship. 

During this period lived Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of 
Shakspeare. 

Mock-invasion of Caligula A. D. 40. Invasion of Clau- 
dius A. D. 43. The Roman General was Aulus Plautius, 
and Caractacus was the leader of the Britons; capture of Cam- 
alodunum, the modern Colchester. Vespasian, afterwards 
Emperor, conquered the Isle of Wight, and his son Titus, 
the future conqueror of Jerusalem, fought as a private 
soldier. 

A. D. 51, Caractacus defeated at Caer-Caradoc in 
Shropshire and sent captive to Rome. A. D. 59, Sue- 
tonius appointed by Nero took the command in Britain, 
he attacked Anglesey and destroyed the Druids. A. D. 61, 
Boadicea, "bleeding from the Roman rods/' stirred up a 
revolt, which ended in the defeat and death of the "British 
Warrior Queen." The town of Londinium, modern Lon- 
don, was laid in ashes. The Romans were now masters 
of Britain. 

Agricola appointed to the command A. D. 78, he marched 
into Caledonia and raised a line of forts from the Clyde to 
the Forth. 

A. D. 121, Hadrian built a rampari from the Tyne to 
Sol way Firth, this is known in history as the wall of Sev- 
erus, because two centuries afterwards.. A.D. 208, Severus 
repaired and perfected it. Severus died at York. 

St. Alban, first Christian martyr of Great Britain, was be- 
headed at Verulam 303. Constantius died at York 306, and 
his son, Constantine the Great, assumed the purple at York. 
The Scots and Picts invaded Britain and penetrated to Lon- 
don, 368. The Britons obtained some assistance from Rome, 
but it was soon withdrawn. A letter was written to iEtius 
Governor of Gaul, A.D. 448, in which Vortigern, Prince of 



the Britons, entreated the Saxons for aid. Arrival of 
Hengist and Horsa A. D. 449. 



ENGLAND FROM THE SAXON INVASION TO 

THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 

A. D. 449—1066. 

This portion of English history may be divided into 
four periods : 

1st. From the first .Saxon Invasion to the foundation of 
the Heptarchy. A. D. 449—827. 

2d. From the foundation of the Heptarchy to the usur- 
pation of the Danes. A. D. 827—1013. 

3d. The Danish usurpation. A. D. 1013—1041. 

4th. From the Restoration of the Anglo-Saxons to the 
Norman Conquest. A. D. 1041—1066. 



FIRST PERIOD. 

From the First Saxon Invasion to the Foundation of the 
Heptarchy. A. D. 449—827. 

Vortigern married Rowena, the daughter of Hengist. 
A. D. 455, Horsa was slain. A. D. 457, Hengist drove the 
Britons out of Kent, and assumed the kingly power. En- 
couraged by the success of their countrymen, other bands 
of German invaders came over at different intervals and 
settled themselves in England. 

About A. D. 520, died the famous Arthur, King of 
Britain. Numerous fabulous stories are told about Arthur, 
his Knights of the Round Table, and the enchanter Merlin. 
A. D. 597, St. Augustine, a monk, came to Britain, which, 
under the Saxons, had relapsed into heathendom. Augus- 



8 

tine converted Ethelbert, King of Kent, and many of his 
subjects. Ethelbert had married Bertha, daughter of Cari- 
bert, King of the Franks. Bertha was a Christian when she 
came to Kent, and worshipped in the church of St. Martin, 
Canterbury. St. Martin's is the oldest church in England, 
and is generally supposed to have been built by the Romans, 
A. D. 187. Ethelbert, Bertha, and St. Augustine were 
all buried in St. Martin's. 

St. Paul's Cathedral, London, was founded A. D. 609, 
and Westminster Abbey by Sebert, King of the East Saxons, 
A. D. 616. The University of Cambridge was founded 
A. D. 644. Bede, the historian, usually styled ''the 
Venerable Bede," died at the Monastery of Wearmouth 
A. D. 735. 

A. D. 827, the Saxon kingdoms were united into 
one monarchy styled the Heptarchy, over which Egbert, 
King of Wessex, was sole ruler. The country was now 
first called England, and Winchester was the capital. The 
Britons had all been driven to Cambria, now Wales. 



SECOND PERIOD. 

From the Foundation of the Heptarchy to the Usurpation of 
the Danes. A. D. 827—1013. 

Egbert. A. D. 827—836. 

The Danes invaded England. Egbert was buried at 
Winchester. 

Ethelwolp. 836 — 857. 

Son of Egbert. He married, 

1st. Osburga, daughter of Earl Oslac; 

2d. Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald of France. 
Ethelwolf and Osburga had five sons, all of whom, except 



9 

the first wore the English crown; and one daughter, 
Ethelswytha. 

During this reign the Danes invaded England, sailed up 
the Thames, and burnt the cities of London and Canter- 
bury. 

Ethel wolf died at Steyning in Sussex, and was buried in 
the Cathedral of St. Swithin, at Winchester. 

Etiielbald. 857—860. 
Ethelbert. 860 — 866. 
Ethelred. 866—872. 

Sons of Ethelwolf and Osburga. During these reigns 
the Danes continued their ravages. They martyred Ed- 
mund, King of East Anglia, and his burial place took the 
name of Bury St. Edmunds. 

Alfred the Great. 872 — 901. 

Son of Ethelwolf and Osburga. He was born at 
Wantage, died at Farriagdon, and was buried at Win- 
chester. He married Elswitha, daughter of Ethelfrid of 
Mercia. 
Alfred had several children; the best known are : 

Edward the Elder, who succeeded his father; 

Ethelfleda, the most learned and remarkable woman of 
her time. 

During this reign there was continual warfare with the 
Danes. 878, a great peace was concluded between Alfred 
and Gruthruni, the Danish chief. 893, the Danes again 
began to commit ravages, but Alfred finally restored tran- 
quillity to the country. 

During the reign of Alfred the University of Oxford was 
founded England was divided into counties and hundred^, 
and trial by jury established. 
2* 



10 



Edward the Elder. 901 — 925. 

Son of Alfred and Elswitha. He re-established the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge. 

Atiielstan. 925 — 941. 

Son of Edward the Elder and Egwina. He died at 
Gloucester, and was buried at Malmsbury. He gained 
numerous victories over the Danes, and caused the Bible to 
be translated into the Saxon tongue. 

Edmund I. 941—947. 
Edred. 947—955. 

Sods of Edward the Elder and Edgifa. 

Edward was stabbed by Leolf, a robber 

Edred was ruled by St. Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury. 

Edwy. 955—959. 

Edgar the Peaceable. 959 — 975. 

Sons of Edmund I. and Elfgiva. 

Edwy married Elgiva, his cousin. Dunstan forced him 
to divorce Elgiva, who was put to death with great cruelty, 
and Edwy died of grief. 

Edgar built monasteries, exterminated wolves, and in- 
creased the navy. He was very arrogant, and at Chester 
his barge on the Dee was rowed by eight vassal princes. 

Edward II., the Martyr. 975 — 978. 

Son of Edgar the Peaceable and Ethelfleda. He was 
stabbed at Corfe Castle by order of his step-mother, Elfrida. 

Ethelred II., the Unready. 978—1013. Died 1016. 

Son of "Edgar the Peaceable and Elfrida. He married, 
1st. Ethelgina; their son was Edmund "Ironside." 



11 

2d. Emma, sister of Richard II., duke of Normandy; 
their sons Were, 

Alfred, who fell into the hands of his enemies and was 
put to death at Ely; 

Edward, surnamed the Confessor. 

This reign was a series of struggles with the piratical 
Danes. At first the king was weak and injudicious enough 
to buy them off with tribute money, called Danegelt. Nov. 
13th, 1002, Ethelred caused a massacre of the Danes, 
which they revenged by an invasion under their king, 
Sweyn. Ethelred fled to Normandy; he subsequently re- 
turned to England, but never recovered his authority. 



THIRD PERIOD. 
The Danish Usurpation. A. D. 1013—1041. 

Sweyn was virtually sovereign of England for one year, 
but before he could be crowned he died at Gainsborough. 

Canute the Great. 1014 — 1036. 
Edmund Ironside. 1016. 

After many struggles on the part of Edmund Ironside to 
regain the kingdom, in 1016, Canute and he made an 
agreement to divide it between them. About a month after- 
wards Edmund was murdered at Oxford, and Canute 
became sole monarch of England. 

Edmund Ironside left two sons, who were educated in 
Hungary; 

Edmund. 

Edward "the Exile," the father of Edgar Atheling, and 
of Margaret, who married Malcolm, King of Scotland. 
Canute married; 

1st. Elgiva. Their sons were Sweyn and Harold. 



12 

2d. Emma, the widow of Ethelred the Unready. Their 
son was Hardicanute. 

Canute died at Shaftesbury, and was buried at Winches- 
ter. He was a wise prince; his reproof to his courtiers at 
Southampton is well known. 

Harold, surnamed Harefoot. 1036 — 1040. 

Son of Canute and Elgiva. Tt was during this reign 
that Alfred, the son of Ethelred and Emma, was murdered. 
Harold died at Oxford. 

Hardicanute. 1040 — 1041. 

Son of Canute and Emma. He was wicked and in- 
temperate, and died at Lambeth after a short reign. 



FOURTH PERIOD. 

From the Restoration of the Anglo-Saxons to the Norman 
Conquest. 1041—1066. 

Edward the Confessor. 1041 — 1066. 

Son of Ethelred and Emma. He married Edith a, 
daughter of Earl Godwin. Edward had been educated in 
Normandy; he favoured foreigners and thereby incurred 
the dislike of the English. 

The most prominent man of the time was the powerful 
Earl Godwin. He and his family were at one time ban- 
ished by the king. Soon after his restoration he died, 
leaving as head of the house his son Harold, who wished 
to be appointed Edward's successor. The King had nomi- 
nated Edward the Exile, but a few days after the latter 
returned to England, he died, and the Confessor, passing 



13 

over the true heir, Edgar Atheling, bequeathed the crown 
to William of Normandy. 

Edward built that part of the abbey church of Westmin- 
ster still called, "The Confessor's Chapel." He was buried 
there. 

During this reign the sons of Duncan,, King of Scotland, 
fled to England to seek assistance from Edward. Their 
father had been slain by Macbeth, who had also usurped 
the throne. This story is told by Shakspeare in the tragedy 
of Macbeth. 

Harold II. 1066. 

Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, was crowned king by 
the Archbishop of York. Whilst Harold was in the north 
of England, defeating the Norwegians who had landed on 
the coast, William of Normandy landed at Pevensey, in 
Sussex. The battle of Hastings was fought between Harold 
and William, Sept. 25th, 1066. William was victorious. 
Harold was killed, — he was buried in Waltham Abbey. 
Two years later the Conqueror founded an Abbey on the 
site of the battle-field, and called it "Battle Abbey." 



14 



SAXON LINE OF KINGS. 



Egbert, 

Ethelwolf, 

Ethelbald, 

Ethelbert, 

Ethelred, 



1 



J> sons of Ethelwolf, 



827—836. 
836—857. 
857—860. 
860—866. 
866—872. 
872—901. 
901—925. 
925—941. 
941—947. 
947—955. 



Alfred the Great, J 

Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, 

Athelstan, } 

Edmund I. > sons of Edward the Elder 

Edred, ) 

^ WJ ', x> „ l^nsofEdmundLJ 955 - 959 
Edgar the Peaceable, 3 (. 959—975 

Edward the Martyr, ) sons of C 975— 978 

Ethelred the Unready, ) Edgar, £978—1016 

Edmund Ironside, son of Ethelred the Unready, 1016 



THE DANISH LINE, 



Canute the Great, 
Harold Harefoot, 
Hardicanute, 



sons of Canute, 



1014—1036. 

i— 1040. 

-1041. 



C 1036—1 
I 1040—1 



SAXON LINE RESTORED. 

Edgar the Confessor, son of Ethelred the 

Unready, 1041—1066. 

Harold, son of Earl Godwin, 1066. 



15 

THE NORMAN LINE. 
William the Conqueror. 1066 — 1087. 

Born 1027. Son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, surnamed 
"Robert the Magnificent," or more commonly, "Robert le 
Diable," and Arlotta, daughter of a tanner of Falaise. He 
was married to Matilda of Flanders, and had four sons and 
six daughters. Those best known in history are : 

Robert, surnamed Courthose, to whom he left Normandy; 

Richard, who was killed in the New Forest; 

William Rufus, king of England; 

Henry, afterwards Henry I., to whom he left his mother's 
fortune; 

Adela, who married Stephen, Count of Blois, and was 
the mother of Stephen the Usurper. 

William the Conqueror met with the accident which caused 
his death at the burning of the town of Mantes. He died at 
the abbey of St. Gervaise, near Rouen, and was buried in 
the abbey of St. Stephen at Caen. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The conquest of England 1066. — His coronation in West- 
minster Abbey — Edgar Atheling renounced his claim to 
the crown, and received a pension of a mark (£1 17s. 6d. 
present money) a clay. The Saxons, the Normans, and the 
sons of the King, rebelled in turn. War with Philip L, 
King of France, — Destruction of Mantes and death of the 
Conqueror. 

During this reign the Curfew Bell was instituted — the 
New Forest made — Doomsday Book compiled — Feudal law 
introduced — and the Tower built. 

Matilda, wife of the Conqueror, died at Caen, and was 
buried there in the Convent of the Holy Trinity. She has 
commemorated the achievements of her warlike husband in 



16 

the famous Bayeux tapestry, still preserved in the cath< 
dral of Bayeux. 



William II., surnarned Rdfus. 1087 — 1100. 

JUBorn 1057. Son of William the Conqueror and Matilda 
of Flanders. He was never married. He died in the New 
Forest, and was buried at Winchester. 

Principal Events of his ReigiiL 

Invasion of Normandy — Robert and William united against 
Henry — First Crusade 1095 — Shot in the New Forest by 
Sir Walter Tyrrel. 

During this reign Westminster Hall was built. — The sea 
overflowed 4000 acres of land, situated opposite Deal, and 
formed what is called Goodwin Sands. 

The New Forest was fatal to three of the descendants of 
the Conqueror; his sons Richard and William, and his grand- 
son Richard, son of Robert Courthose. 



Henry I., surnamed Beauclerc. 1100 — 1135. 

Born at Selby in Yorkshire, 1070.— Son of William the 
Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders He was married, 
1st. to Matilda of Scotland, niece of Edgar Atheling; 
2d. to Adelicia of Louvain. 
Henry I. and Matilda of Scotland had two children: 

William, who was drowned crossing the Channel from 

Normandy; 
Matilda, called "the Empress Maude," who married first, 
Henry V., Emperor of Germany, and afterwards 
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou. 



17 

Henry died near Rouen, in Normandy. His body was 
taken to England and interred in the Abbey of St. Mary at 
Reading:. 



*o - 



Principal Events of his Reign 

War with his brother Robert, Duke of Normandy. Cap- 
ture of Robert, who was imprisoned for twenty-eight weary 
years at Cardiff Castle. It is said that he was also deprived 
of sight. Shipwreck of the ' 'White Ship," and loss of Prince 
William. The King was so much affected by the death of 
his son, that "he never smiled again/' 

During this reign the order of "Knights Templars" was 
instituted. 



Stephen of Blois. 1135 — 1154. 

Born 1105. Son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela, 
daughter of William the Conqueror. He was married to 
Matilda of Boulogne. All their children, except a daughter 
who took the veil, died young. The eldest, Prince Eustace, 
had been proclaimed heir to the throne of England. 

Stephen died at Dover, and was buried in the Abbey of 
Feversham. His queen, Matilda, was a noble woman. 
The beautiful legend on her tomb is, "If ever woman 
deserved to be carried by angel hands to heaven, it was this 
holy Queen." She was buried in the Abbey of Feversham. 

Principal Events of his Reign, 

Wars with Matilda, daughter of Henry L, who by right 

of birth should have had the crown. — Matilda was aided by 

the Earl of Gloucester. — David, King of Scotland, invaded 

the north of England in defence of his niece's title, and 

3 



18 

fought the battle of Northallerton or the Standard. The 
Scots were defeated. After many years of civil war, most 
disastrous to the kingdom, Stephen and Matilda made a 
compromise, by which Stephen was to reign during his life- 
time, and the crown to descend to the son of Matilda. 2d 
Crusade 1145. 

During this reign lived William of Malmesbury, an his- 
torian. 



NORMAN LINE OF KINGS. 

William the Conqueror. 1066—1087. 

William II., surnamed Rufus. 1087—1100. 

Henry I., surnamed Beauclerc. 1100 — 1135. 

Stephen of Blois. 1135—1154. 



THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET. 

Henry II., surnamed Plantagenet. 1154 — 1189. 

Born 1133. Son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, 
and Matilda, daughter of Henry I. In him the Saxon line 
was restored. He married Eleanor of Guienne or Aquitaine, 
the divorced wife of Louis VII. of France. They had seven 
children: 

William, who died in childhood; 

Henry, who married Marguerite of France, and died before 
his father; 

Richard, surnamed Cceur de Lion; 

Geoffrey, who married Constance of Bretagne, and was 
the father of Arthur and the Damsel of Bretagne; 



19 

John, surnamed Lackland; 

Maud, married to Alphonso of Castile; 

Joan, married to William, King of Sicily. 

Henry died of a broken heart at the Castle of Chinon near 
Saumur, in Anjou, and was buried in the Abbey of Fontev- 
rault. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Disputes with the clergy — Thomas a Becket, son of Gilbert 
a Becket, a merchant of London, who had been a crusader, 
and a Saracen lady, was created Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Becket, when elevated to this high station, changed his de- 
meanor and sided against the King. Henry was much irri- 
tated by the conduct of Becket, and in an unguarded moment 
exclaimed, "Is there nobody to deliver me from this turbu- 
lent priest?" Four gentlemen of the King's household 
immediately set out for Canterbury and murdered Becket in 
the Cathedral, before the altar of St. Benedict, 29th Decem- 
ber, 1170. Becket was canonized, and pilgrimages were 
made to his shrine. King Henry was obliged to do public 
penance at his tomb. — Conquest of Ireland 1171. Dermot, 
King of Leinster, asked assistance from Henry to restore 
him to his sovereignty, from which he had been driven; he 
enlisted in his cause the Earl of Pembroke, surnamed Strong- 
bow. The latter married Eva, the daughter of Dermot, and 
upon the death of Dermot claimed the crown in right of his 
wife. Henry obliged Strongbow to resign his pretensions, 
and the whole kingdom of Ireland submitted without a blow. 
Queen Eleanor encouraged her sons to rebel against their 
father. Henry, the eldest, died before his father. Geoffrey 
was killed in a tournament at Paris. After the death of his 
brothers, Richard persuaded John to join a rebellion against 
their father. The disaffection of this favourite son, John, 
caused the King so much grief that it resulted in his death. 



20 

During this reign the kingdom was divided into circuits. 
The distinction between Saxons and Normans began to dis- 
appear. Glass windows first used in private houses. Nich- 
olas Breakspeare, the only Englishman who ever wore the 
tiara, was chosen Pope in 1154, and took the title of 
Adrian IV. 



Richard I., surnamed Cceur de Lion. 1189—1199. 

Born at Oxford, 1157. Son of Henry II and Eleanor 
of Guienne. He was married to Berengaria, daughter of 
the King of Navarre, and had no children. Richard died 
while besieging the castle of Chalus in Aquitaine, and was 
buried in the Abbey of Fontevrault. 

Richard has been installed in romance as the great hero 
of chivalry, but although Sir Walter Scott has said that his 
name is "so dear to Englishmen," and we have been used 
to identify him with the "Black-Knight" of "Ivanhoe," and 
the "lion-heart" of "The Talisman," it must not be forgotten 
that he was a rebellious and undutiful son. His expedients 
to raise money were very questionable, and, though brave 
and frank, he was haughty and avaricious. During his 
reign of ten years he passed but four months in England, 
and he was never known to speak English but once. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

3d Crusade— Sojourn in Sicily — Capture of the Island of 
Cyprus — Capture of Acre — Battle of Joppa, in which the 
Christians were victorious — Truce with Saladin for three 
years, three months, three days, and three hours — Return of 
the King — His capture, imprisonment, and release. Tradi- 
tion says that the place of his captivity was discovered by 
Blondel, a faithful minstrel — Siege of the castle of Chalus, 
near Limoges. 



21 

During this reign lived the celebrated outlaw, Robin 
Hood. He is the Saxon yeoman Loeksley, of Ivanhoe, and 
was the leader of a band of outlaws, amongst whom were 
Friar Tuck and Little John; they lived in Sherwood Forest 



John, surnamed Lackland. 1199 — 1216. 

Born 1166. Son of Henry II. and Eleanor of Guienne. 
He was married to Isabella of Angouleme and had five chil- 
dren. Those best known in history are: 

Henry, who succeeded him; 

Jane, married to Alexander, King of Scotland; 

Eleanor, married, first, to the Earl of Pembroke, secondly, 
to the Earl of Leicester. 

He died at Swinshead Abbey in Lincolnshire, and was 
buried in Worcester Cathedral. 

Principal Events of his Reign, 

Murder of his nephew, Arthur of Bretagne, son of Geof- 
frey, and rightful heir to the throne — Quarrel with the 
Pope, Innocent III. — The barons compelled John to sign 
Magna Charta at Runnymede, near Windsor, 15th June, 
1215. John enlisted foreign soldiers and tried to recall all 
the liberties he had granted. The barons invited Louis, 
eldest son of the King of France, tu their aid, promising to 
reward him with the crown. — Death of the King. 

Magna Charta is still preserved in the British Museum. 

Arthur of Bretagne was supposed to have been murdered at 

the Castle of Rouen, and his sister, the Damsel of Bretagne, 

was imprisoned hi J^/istol Castle, where she died. John 

lost his French i f; ?,nrraish hence his surname. 
jjrith ivy. 

8* 



22 

Henry III. of Winchester. 1216—1272. 

Born 1207. Son of John and Isabella of Angouleme. 
He was married to Eleanor of Provence, and had four chil- 
dren. The best known in history are : 

Edward who succeeded him; 

Edmund, titular King of Sicily; 

Margaret, married Alexander III. of Scotland. 
Henry died at Westminster, and was buried in West- 
minster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Earl of Pembroke appointed Protector of the realm. — The 
French army defeated atLincolu, 1210.— Death of the Earl 
of Pembroke. — The Pope gave Prince Edmund the title of 
King of Sicily. Great extortion of the Pope and Henry to 
defray the expenses of this empty honor. — The barons, headed 
by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, refused to submit 
to the exactions of the King. — The "mad parliament" assem- 
bled at Oxford. — Louis IX. of France attempted to act as 
mediator, but he was unsuccessful. — The King and Edward 
taken prisoners at Lewes, 1264. — Edward's escape, 1265. 
Battle of Evesham, in which the party of the King was vic- 
torious. — The Earl of Leicester and his son were slain. — 
1270, Prince Edward set out on a crusade, the seventh and 
last. 

This was the longest reign in English history, with, the 
exception of that of George III. During this reign and that 
of Edward I. lived Roger Bacon, a monk, who dwelt at 
Oxford, and was the first experimental philosopher in Eng- 
land. He is said to have invented gunpowder, telescopes, 
reading glasses, and various othmment.ijs both useful and 
curious. He was looked upon as'iaptivitvian. 

The first parliament met in 1265. 



23 

Edward I., surnamed Longshanks. 1*272 — 1307. 

Born A. D. 1239. Son of Henry III. and Eleanor of 
Provence. He was twice married; 

1st. To Eleanor of Castile, by whom he had fifteen chil- 
dren; 

2d. To Marguerite of France, by whom he had two sons. 

He died at Burgh-on the-Sands, near Carlisle; his heart 
was taken to the Holy Land, and his body was buried in 
Westminster Abbey. His tomb bears this inscription: 

"Here lies the Hammer of the Scottish Nation." 

His queen, Eleanor of Castile, surnamed "The Faithful," 
was a lovely woman. She accompanied Edward to the Holy 
Land, and it is said that she saved his life by sucking the 
poison from his arm, which had been wounded by a Saracen 
assassin. Whether this touching legend be strictly true 
or not, it is certain that Edward always attributed his recov- 
ery to Eleanor's devoted care and attention. Queen Eleanor 
died 1291, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. The King 
followed her corpse in person during thirteen days. At 
each resting place Edward erected a magnificent cross. 
Those at Waltham and Northampton still remain. In 
London the body rested on the spot now occupied by the 
statue of Charles I., and a cross was built in memory 
of Edward's chere reine, hence Charing Cross, "dear Queen's 
Cross." At this time (1866), that monument is being 
restored near the same spot, and is called Hungerford Cross. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

War with Wales. — 1282, Llewellyn, the Welsh prince, 
was killed in a skirmish at Builth, on the Wye. His 
head, crowned with ivy, was placed on the gate of the 
Tower of London. — 1283, Conquest of Wales — David, 



24 

brother of Llewellyn, was executed — 1284, Edward, sou 
of the King, was born at Caernarvon, and declared Prince 
of Wales, and since then the eldest sons of the English 
sovereigns have always borne that title. — 1290, The Jews 
banished from England, and they were not permitted to 
return until the time of the Commonwealth. 

War with Scotland The "Maid of Norway," grand- 
child of Alexander III. of Scotland, and Margaret, daugh- 
ter of Henry III. of England, betrothed to Edward of 
Caernarvon, died at the Orkney Islands on her way to Scot- 
land. There was no direct heir to the throne of Scotland; 
thirteen claimants appeared, but only three of them had 
any real grounds for their demands, The decision was 
referred to Edward I., who pronounced in favor of John 
Balliol. — 1292, Robert Bruce disputed the succession. — 
The Scots, headed by Sir William Wallace, were defeated 
at Falkirk. 1298. 

Wallace was executed at Smithfield, London, 23d Au- 
gust, 1305. Robert Bruce, grand-son of the Robert Bruce 
who had disputed the crown with Balliol, slew the Red 
Comyn in the church of the Minorites, at Dumfries. Ed- 
ward immediately took up arms to revenge the murder 
Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, at Scone, March 29th, 
1306. The English King made all haste to reach Scotland, 
but died near Carlisle, August 7th, 1307. 

Edward, some years previous, had made an unsuccessful 
attempt to recover Guienne. His improvement of the laws 
has given him the title of "the English Justinian." 

There is a tradition that after the conquest of Wales, 
Edward caused the massacre of the Welsh bards. This is 
commemorated in Gray's noble ode, "The Bard." During 
the war with Scotland Edward removed to London the 
great stone, "the stone of destiny," on which the Scottish 
kings had been crowned from time immemorial. This 



25 

relic is still preserved in Westminster Abbey, and is fixed 
to the bottom of Edward the Confessor's chair, the corona- 
tion chair, by clamps of iron. It is nothing more than a 
piece of reddish-gray sandstone, squared and smoothed - 

Sir William Wallace, the "Knight of Ellerslie," is to 
the Scottish people what Tell is to the Swiss, and Washing- 
ton to the Americans. He is supposed to have been be- 
trayed to the English by Sir John Monteith. He was 
tried in Westminster Hall. After his death his head was 
placed on London Bridge, and his body was quartered and 
sent to Newcastle, Berwick, Perth and Aberdeen. Robert 
Bruce was crowned by Isabella, Countess of Buchan, as 
her brother, the Earl of Fife, whose duty it was to have 
placed the crown on the King's head, refused his attend- 
ance. King Edward before his death made his son prom- 
ise that his body should be boiled in a large caldron until 
the flesh separated from the bones, and that these bones, 
wrapped in a bull's hide, should be carried at the head of 
the English army whenever the Scots rebelled. This 
promise was not fulfilled. 



Edward II., surnamed Caernarvon. 1307 — 1327. 

Born A. D. 1284. Son of Edward I. and Eleanor of 
Castile. He was married to Isabella the Fair, of France, 
and had four children. The two best known are: 

Edward, who succeeded him; 

Jane, married to David II. of Scotland. 

He was murdered at Berkeley Castle with great cruelty. 
The Severn re-echoed, 

"The shrieks of death, through Berkeley's roof that ring, 
Shrieks of an agonizing King." 

The body of this unhappy monarch was buried in Glou- 
cester Cathedral. His Queen Isabella, ' 'she-wolf of 



26 

She was 

imprisoned in Castle Rising for some years before her 
death. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Edward disregarded the promise made to his father to 
continue the war with Scotland. Recalled Piers Gaveston, 
and showed him so many favors that it caused great dis- 
affection amongst the barons. Gaveston was taken pris- 
oner by the Earl of Pembroke, and executed on Black- 
low-hill, near Warwick Castle. War with Scotland renewed. 
Battle of Bannockburn, June 25th, 1314, — the Scots were 
completely victorious. Hugh de Spenser succeeded Graves- 
ton in the favor of the King. — The nobles banded themselves 
against the De Spensers, (father and son), and a period of 
bloody contentions between the King and the Barons en- 
sued. 1322, the Earl of Lancaster was beheaded. The 
Queen contrived to go to France with the Prince of Wales, 
and then openly sided with the Barons against the King. 
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, headed the faction against 
Edward, — he became the favourite of Isabella. 1326, the 
Queen and her party openly took up arms against the King. 
Edward was taken prisoner and conducted to Kenil worth 
Castle, where he was compelled to sign a formal abdication 
of the crown in favor of his son Edward, Prince of Wales. 
After his deposition the King was very cruelly treated, and 
on the 21st of September, 1327, by the command of the 
Queen and Mortimer, he was murdered in Berkeley Castle. 

During this reign, 1312, the order of Knights Templars 
was suppressed. Their property in London was given by 
Edward II. to the Earl of Pembroke; at his death it passed 
to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and afterwards to 
the Crown. In the reign of Edward III. it was leased by the 



27 

students of law, and has been occupied by them ever since. 
James I. conferred the property upon them. The Temple 
Church is one of the most interesting monuments of Lou- 
don. It was built in 1183, after the model of the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. In contains many 
ancient monuments of the Templars. 



Edward III. of Windsor. 1327—1377. 

Born 1312, Son of Edward II. and Isabella the Fair 
of France. He was married to Philippa of Hainault, and 
had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. Two 
sons died in infancy, the others were : 

1. Edward, the Black Prince, married to Joanna of 

Kent, widow of Sir Thomas Holland. 
The Black Prince died near London, and was buried in 

Canterbury Cathedral. 
2d. Lionel, Duke of Clarence, who died, leaving an only 
daughter, Philippa, married to Edmund Mortimer, Earl 
of March. — The son of the latter, Roger, Earl of Aiarch, 
was the true heir to the throne of England on the 
death of Richard II., but, owing to his youth, his 
claims were disregarded, and they were transmitted to 
his daughter Anne, who married Edmund, son of the 
Duke of York. Their son Richard, Duke of York, 
asserted his claims to the throne, and though he was 
killed, they were recognized in the person of his son, 
afterwards Edward IV. 
3d. John of Gaunt, "time-honored Lancaster," married, 
1st. Blanche of Lancaster; 
2d. Constantia of Castile; t 

3d. Katherine Swynford, whose son, John Beaufort, 
was the great-grandfather of Henry VII. 



28 

4th. Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, great grand- 
father of Edward IV. 

5th. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. 

Edward III. died at Shene, and was buried in Westmin- 
ster Abbey. Philippa was a worthy consort for the "Lion 
of England." She is buried at the feet of her husband in 
Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

An ineffectual attempt to subjugate Scotland during the 
minority of the King — The King asserted his power by the 
execution of Mortimer and the imprisonment of the Queen. 
War with Scotland and France. Edward asserted his 
claim to the throne of France through his mother Isabella, 
in defiance of the Salique law. The French defeated in the 
naval battle of Sluys, 1340. The next two years Edward 
employed in trying to replenish his exhausted treasury, and 
in attending to the affairs of his kingdom. 1342, Edward 
espoused the cause of Jane, Countess of Montfort, the most 
extraordinary woman of her age, whose husband claimed 
the succession to the dukedom of Brittany. 1346, Edward 
made a formidable invasion of France. Battle of Crecy, 
25th of August, 1346; the Black Prince "won his spurs" 
in this battle, and the blind King of Bohemia was killed. 
After the battle of Crecy followed the siege of Calais, which 
lasted eleven months. October 17th, 1346, Philippa won 
the battle of Neville's Cross, near Durham, in which David, 
King of Scotland, was taken prisoner. The lives of six 
noble citizens of Calais were spared at the instance of Queen 
Philippa. A grievous pestilence prevented the immediate 
prosecution of the French war. September 19th, 1356, 
was fought the battle of Poitiers, in which the English 
were completely victorious. King John of France was taken 
prisoner to London. John was subsequently restored to lib- 
erty, but in default of the payment of his ransom he returned 



29 

to London, and died at the palace of Savoy in the Strand. 
In 1367 the Black Prince marched into Castile to assist 
Pedro the Cruel. The Spanish campaign and its conse- 
quences were very unfortunate to the English. In 1376 
died the Black Prince. Edward died in 1377, abandoned 
by his children, and almost alone. 

"Mighty victor, mighty lord, 

Low on his funeral couch he lies ! 
No pitying heart, no eye, afford 
A tear to grace his obsequies." 

At this period "feudalism" was nearly at an end, but the 
"poetry of feudalism" existed in the order of "chivalry." 
England was very prosperous. — The King encouraged the 
development of trade and commerce. — Coals were first taken 
from Newcastle to London. — Queen Philippa established the 
cloth manufacture at Norwich. Froissart, author of the 
Chronicles, was the Queen's secretary ; and Geoffrey Chau- 
cer, the "father of English poetry," called by Spenser, 

"Well of English undefyled;" 

and author of The Canterbury Tales, was her protege. 

Edward showed a warm friendship for Jacob Van Arte- 
veldt, commonly styled "the Brewer of Ghent," and it was 
at his suggestion that the King assumed the royal coat of 
arms of France. The palace of Windsor was built under 
the direction of William of Wykeham. Over the great 
gate is the well known inscription, 

"This made Wykeham." 

Wykeham founded Winchester School, and was made 
Bishop of Winchester, and afterwards Lord Chancellor of 
England. He took for his motto, 

"Manners makyth Men." 



30 

During this reign and the next also lived John Wycliffe, 
"the Morning Star of the Reformation;" he was protected 
by John of Gaunt. Wycliffe translated the Scriptures into 
English; his proselytes were called Lollards. 

Iu 1344, the Order of the Knights of the Garter was 
instituted. The badge of the Order is a dark blue ribbon, 
with the motto, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," (Evil to 
him who evil thinks). This Order is the most honourable 
of any in the world; it consists of twenty- five members, not 
counting the Sovereign of England, who is head of the 
Order, princes of the blood, and foreign potentates who are 
sometimes invested with it as a very high honour. The 
crest of the King of Bohemia, slain at Crecy, was three 
ostrich feathers, and his motto, "Ich dien," (I serve); they 
were adopted by Edward the Black Prince, and have ever 
since been worn as the arms of the Princes of Wales. 

It is said that "bombards," a sort of cannon, were first 
used by the English at the battle of Crecy, About this 
period oil-painting was invented by John Van Eyck, a 
native of Holland. Queen Philippa founded Queen's Col- 
lege at Oxford, and the Hospital of the Nuns of St. Cathe- 
rine by the Tower. 



Richard II. of Bordeaux. 1377—1399. 

Born 1367. Son of Edward, the Black Prince, and 
Joanna of Kent. He married 

1st Anne of Bohemia, surnamed the Good; 

2d. Isabella of Valois; 
and left no children. He was murdered at Pontefract Cas- 
tle, and buried first at King's Langley, and afterwards in 
Westminster Abbey. 



31 



Principal Events of his Reign. 

1381, Insurrection headed by Wat Tyler — Richard's 
conduct was bold and energetic — Wat Tyler was killed at 
Smithfield and the insurgents immediately submitted to the 
King. 1388, Battle of Otterbourne sung in the old ballad 
of Chevy Chase; — young Percy, surnamed Hotspur, was 
taken prisoner, and Douglas slain. 1397, the Duke of 
Gloucester, uncle of the King, was accused of high treason 
and summoned to be tried by Parliament at Westminster, — 
before the day appointed it was said that Gloucester had 
died in prison, but it was suspected that he had been mur- 
dered by the King's orders. 1398, Quarrel between Henry 
Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, and Thomas Mowbray, 
Duke of Norfolk; the King banished them the kingdom. 
1399, John of Gaunt died, and Richard seized on his 
estates. Bolingbroke returned to claim his rights whilst 
Richard was in Ireland; he was joined by a great number 
of noblemen and followers, and soon made use of his ad- 
vantages to seize upon the crown. Richard was taken pri- 
soner in Flint Castle, he was conveyed to the Tower, where 
he resigned the crown in favor of ''my cousin, Henry of 
Lancaster." He was afterwards formally deposed by a vote 
of Parliament assembled in Westminster Hall, and removed 
to Pontefract Castle, where he was murdered or starved to 
death. 

Shakspeare has illustrated this reign in one of his ten 
"Chronicle Plays." Isabella, the youthful Queen of Rich- 
ard,, returned to France, where she afterwards married her 
cousin, Duke of Orleans. 



32 



Henry IV., surnanied Bolingbroke. 1399—1413. 

Born 1367. Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lan- 
caster. He was married 

1st. To Mary de Bohun, daughter of the Earl of Here- 
ford, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. 
His sons were, 
Henry, who succeeded him; 

Thomas, Duke of Clarence, who died before Henry V; 
John, Duke of Bedford; 

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, called "the good Duke 
Humphrey;" 

2d. He married Joanna of Navarre, who had no children. 

Henry died in "the Jerusalem Chamber" in Westminster 
Abbey, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Proclaimed king in Westminster Hall, when he uttered 
his famous challenge to the realm of England that he, 
Henry of Lancaster, was the rightful heir. — The claims of 
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, a child of seven years 
old, descended from Lionel, second son of Edward III., 
were entirely disregarded. The King soon realized the 
truth of the words put into his mouth by Shakspeare, 

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 

The Welsh made an effort to place the Earl of March on 
the throne, — many of the nobles rebelled against Henry's 
authority, — the Lollards were persecuted, — Owen Glendower, 
a Welsh gentleman, was a formidable foe to Henry. 14th 
Sept. 1402, Battle of Homildon-hill, the Scots under 
Douglas were defeated hy the Earl of Northumberland and 



33 

his son Henry Percy, suruarned Harry Hotspur. The Earl 
of Northumberland, Glendower, and Douglas, entered into 
an alliance against Henry IV, The battle of Shrewsbury 
was fought, July 23d, 1403, in which the King was vic- 
torious. Henry, Prince of Wales, signalized himself gal- 
lantly in this battle. Northumberland was pardoned, but 
two years later again rebelled; he was joined by Richard 
Scroop, Archbishop of York, who was seized, tried, con- 
demned and executed. He was the first English Archbishop 
who perished by the hands of an executioner. 

Henry's last days were embittered by the conduct of his 
son Henry, Prince of Wales, who spent his time with 
riotous and dissolute companions. Chief Justice Gascoigne 
on one occasion sent "madcap Harry" to prison for contempt 
of court; Henry said when he heard it, "Happy the monarch 
who possesses a judge so resolute in the discharge of his 
duty, and a son so willing to submit to the laws!" 1405, 
James of Scotland was taken prisoner while on his way to 
France, and was not released until 1423. Henry was seized 
with apoplexy in the chapel of Edward the Confessor, and 
was removed to the Jerusalem Chamber. It had been pre- 
dicted that he should die in Jerusalem, so when told where 
he was he received it as his death-knell. He died March 
20th, 1413. 

The career of Prince Hal has been portrayed by Shaks- 
peare in his matchless plays. Sir John Falstaff was one of 
the jolliest of his gay companions. The story goes that the 
Prince of Wales tried on the crown before his father's death. 
and that when Henry asked him by what right he could 
wear it, the prince replied: "With the sword you won it, 
and with the sword I will keep it." 



4* 



34 



Henry V. of Monmouth. 1413 — 1422. 

Born 1388. Son of Henry IV. and Mary de Bohun. 
He was married to Katherine of Valois, and had one son; 

Henry, who succeeded him. 

He died at Vincennes, near Paris, and was buried in 
Westminster Abbey. 

His widow Katherine secretly married Owen Tudor, a 
Welsh gentleman. Their eldest son Edmund, married 
to Margaret Beaufort, great-grand-daughter of John of 
Gaunt, was the father of Henry, Duke of Richmond, after- 
wards Henry VII. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Henry began his reign by manifesting a generous and pru- 
dent policy; he released the young Earl of March, the true 
heir to the throne; he restored the Percys to their estates 
and honors; he had the body of Richard II. removed from 
Langley and interred at Westminster, by the side of his 
Queen, "the good Queen Anne;" and he gave up his gay 
companions and applied himself diligently to the affairs of 
his kingdom. The Lollards, or Wycliffites, suffered a cruel 
persecution. Four years later, 1418, Lord Cobham was 
burned in St. Giles' Fields. — 1415, Henry determined to 
invade France; previous to his departure he discovered a 
conspiracy headed by the Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scroop, 
and Sir Thomas Grey, who were tried, condemned, and exe- 
cuted. — Henry landed near Harfleur, August 14th, 1415. 
Charles VI. of France was insane, and the kingdom was 
distracted by internal factions. Harfleur yielded after a 
siege of thirty-six days. October 25th, 1415, Battle of 
Azincour, (Agincourt,) in which the French were entirely 



35 

defeated. This was one of the most glorious victories ever 
gained by an English army, but it was attended by a fearful 
sacrifice of human life. After this battle hostilities were 
interrupted for two years. Aug. 1st, 1417, Henry again 
landed in France. January 1419, Rouen was captured 
after a protracted siege. 1420, a treaty was concluded at 
Troyes, the principal articles of which were that Henry 
should marry Katherine, daughter of the French King; that 
Charles should during his lifetime enjoy the title and dignity 
of King of France under the regency of Henry; an dthat 
the latter should succeed to the throne upon the death of 
Charles, to the exclusion of the Dauphin. 1422, Henry 
died at the Castle of Vincennes, in the Bois de Vincennes 
near Paris; his body was conducted with great pomp to 
London, and interred in Westminster Abbey. 

During this reign each citizen of London was ordered to 
hang a lantern outside of his door at night, from whence 
arose the custom of lighting the streets. At this time lived 
Sir Richard Whittington, "thrice Lord Mayor of London." 



Henry VI. of Windsor. 1422—1461. 

Born 1421. Son of Henry V. and Katharine of Valois. 
He was married to Margaret of Anjou, and had one son, 
Edward of Lancaster, who was married to Anne, daughter 
of the Earl of Warwick, and was cruelly slain after the bat- 
tle of Tewkesbury. Henry was murdered in the Tower, in 
1471, and was buried in Chertsey Abbey. His remains 
were subsequently removed to St George's Chapel, Windsor. 
Henry was a feeble monarch but a good man. It was his 
misfortune to live in an age of violence, yet to be possessed 
of a saintly and gentle spirit. Gray calls him the ' 'meek 



36 

usurper." His Queen, Margaret of Anjou, was the very 
reverse of her husband, and she endeavoured to supply by 
her energy and force of character the feebleness of Henry's 
rule. She is generally portrayed in hideous colours, as 
unfeminine, cruel and revengeful, but much allowance must 
be made for the peculiarity of her position in connection 
with her resolute and indomitable spirit. After the total 
defeat of the Lancastrians Margaret was imprisoned in Eng- 
land for five years, she was then liberated and retired to 
the home of her father in France. She died at the chateau 
of Damprierre, and was buried in the Cathedral of Angers. 
In the breviary of Margaret there is one sentence supposed 
to have been written by herself: — 

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." 



Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Duke of Bedford was appointed Regent of France 
and Protector of England, and the Duke of Gloucester was 
to hold the latter office during the absence of the Duke of 
Bedford in France. 1424, James I. of Scotland was set at 
liberty after eighteen years captivity; he married Jane 
Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset. Charles VI. 
of France died two months after the death of Henry V. The 
Dauphin, Charles VII. of France, asserted his right to 
the crown, but his prospect of success seemed to grow weaker 
and weaker. 1428, siege of Orleans, under the Earl of 
Salisbury, who, being killed, was succeeded by the Earl of 
Suffolk. 1429, the siege of Orleans was raised by Joan of 
Arc, (Jeanne d'Arc,) who believed that she was divinely 
commissioned to restore the fallen fortunes of France. 
Through her efforts Charles was crowned at Bheims.— 1431, 
the siege of Compiegne; Joan of Arc was taken prisoner, 
tried for witchcraft, and, to the lasting disgrace of the Duke 



37 

of Bedford, was burnt at the stake at Rouen. Charles VII., 
who owed her his kingdom, made no effort to save her. The 
Duke of Bedford died in 1485. The English power in 
France declined until at last they had nothing left them but 
Calais. 1445, Henry married Margaret of Anjou, and 
instead of receiving a dowry with her, he was obliged to 
surrender Anjou and Maine. 1447, The Duke of Glouces- 
ter was impeached and arrested at Bury St. Edmunds; he 
was found dead in his bed, and is supposed to have been 
murdered. 1450, the Duke of Suffolk was accused of high 
treason, — he was banished, intercepted on his passage to 
France, and murdered. The same year an insurrection, 
headed by Jack Cade, broke out in Kent, — Cade called him- 
self Mortimer, entered London, and as he passed London 
Stone, struck it with his sword and said, "Now is Mortimer 
lord of this city." The insurgents were soon quelled, and 
Cade was killed. 1452, The Duke of York took up arms. 
The civil wars which ensued between the Houses of York and 
Lancaster are called the "Wars of the Roses," — the Yorkists 
wore a white rose, the Lancastrians a red one. 1454, Prince 
Edward was born and the Duke of York had no longer any 
hopes of securing the crown peaceably. May 23d, 1455, 
Battle of St. Albans; the Yorkists were victorious, and the 
King fell into the hands of the Duke of York. For several 
years there were no open hostilities, and the King was 
restored to the sovereign authority. July 10th, 1460, Bat- 
tle of Northampton. Henry was defeated and taken pris- 
oner, and the Queen escaped northwards. Parliament 
assembled and decided that Henry should continue to reign 
during his lifetime, but that the Duke of York and his heirs 
should succeed after Henry's death. Dec. 23d, 1460, Bat- 
tle of Wakefield; the Lancastrians, headed by Margaret, 
were victorious; the Duke of York and his son, the Earl of 
Rutland, were slain. The Duke of York's head was cut off 



38 

by Margaret's orders, and, encircled with a paper crown, 
was fixed upon the gates of York; 

"So York may overlook the town of York.'-' 
Margaret set out for London, and was met at St Albans by 
the Earl of Warwick with a party of Yorkists — this second 
battle of St. Albans was favorable to the Lancastrians. 
Edward, the young Duke of York, entered London, March 
3d, 1461, and was proclaimed king by the people. Henry 
VI. Jived ten years longer, but here ends his reign. 

Joan of Arc, called the Maid of Orleans, was distin- 
guished for her patriotism, heroism, and piety. Two 
great modern poets have celebrated her memory, Southey 
and Schiller, and "Joan of Arc is a heroine to Englishmen 
no less than to Frenchmen." Perhaps the most beautiful 
tribute to her memory is the statue in the gallery of Ver- 
sailles, executed by the Princess Marie d'Orleans, daughter 
of the late king, Louis Philippe. 

Loudon Stone is of great antiquity, and is supposed to 
have been of Roman origin. Tradition says that it was in 
Temple Gardens that the Roses were chosen as badges of 
the Yorkists and Lancastrians, the Duke of Somerset 
plucked a red rose and the Earl of Warwick a white one. 
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was the most powerful 
Baron in England. He is called the King-maker, because 
he was able to make and unmake kings; and "the last of 
the Barons," because he was the last who exercised such a 
controlling influence in the kingdom, and who maintained 
it with so great state. The badge of Warwick was "the 
Bear and the Ragged Staff." Shakspeare puts in his mouth 
these lines; 

'Now, by my father's badge, old Neville's crest, 
The rampant bear chain'd to the ragged staff." 

King Henry founded King's College, Cambridge, and Eton 
College, near Windsor, 



39 



l - Where grateful Science still adores 
Her Henry's holy shade." 

Margaret of Anjou founded Queen's College, Cambridge. 
The Duke of York left three sons; 

Edward, who became King under the title of Edward IV.; 
George, Duke of Clarence, who married Isabella, eldest 

daughter of the Earl of Warwick; 
Richard, duke of Gloucester, who afterwards became 
Richard III. 



Edward IV. of York. 1461—1483. 

Born 1443. Son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily, 
daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland. He 
married Elizabeth Wydville, or Woodville, widow of Sir 
John Grey, and had eight children. The best known in 
history are : 

Edward, who succeeded him; 

Richard, Duke of York; 

Elizabeth, married to Henry VII. 

Edward died at Westminster, and was buried in St. 
George's Chapel, Windsor. His Queen is buried by his 
side. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Margaret collected a large army and was met by the Earl 
of Warwick and his forces at Towton; a battle was fought 
March 29th, 1461, in which the Yorkists were completely 
victorious. Henry and his family fled to Scotland. Mar- 
garet of Anjou went to France in the hope of obtaining aid. 
After the battle of Hexham, May 15th, 1464, Margaret fled 
with her son, escaped from the perils of robbers, and went 



40 

to her father's court and lived some years in seclusion. 
Henry VI. was imprisoned in the Tower The marriage of 
Edward to Lady Grey gave great offence to the Earl of 
Warwick, who left the party of the King and sided with 
the Lancastrians. The Duke of Clarence joined with War- 
wick, who, to strengthen his alliance with Margaret of Anjou, 
espoused his second daughter, Anne, to her son Prince 
Edward. Warwick landed at Dartmouth, Sept. 13th, 1470; 
Henry was released from prison and recognized as King 
under the regency of Warwick and Clarence. April 14th, 
1471, Battle of Barnet; the fickle Clarence deserted to his 
brother, and the Earl of Warwick was defeated and slain. 
May 3d, 1471, Battle of Tewkesbury, in which the Lancas- 
trians were totally defeated. Queen Margaret and her son 
were taken prisoners, and the prince was cruelly slain by 
King Edward and his brothers. King Henry died in the 
Tower a few days afterwards; it is generally supposed that 
he was murdered by the Duke of Gloucester. 1478, the 
Duke of Clarence was impeached and condemned to die; 
historians say that he was permitted to choose the manner of 
his death, and that he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey 
wine. Edward, at the time of his death, was preparing 
for a war with Louis XT. of France. 

During this reign the art of printing was introduced into 
England by William Caxton, a citizen of London. The 
first book printed in England was the "Game and Play of 
the Chesse," in 1474; it was dedicated to Geor?e, Duke of 
Clarence. 



Edward V. 1483 

Born 1471. Son of Edward IV. and Elizabeth Woodville. 
He was murdered in the Tower and buried there. During 



41 

the reign of Charles II. his remains were discovered and 
removed to Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

This is the shortest reign in English history, having lasted 
about three months. The Duke of Gloucester had been nom- 
inated Regent by the late king, and soon contrived to get 
the young king in his own power, and imprisoned his uncle, 
Lord Rivers, and his step-brother, Lord Grey, in Pontefract 
Castle, where they were put to death. The Queen, with 
the Duke of York and the Pve Princesses, fled to the Sanctu- 
ary at Westminster, but Gloucester obliged her to surrender 
the Duke of York into his hands. Richard soon had him- 
self proclaimed king, and the two princes were smothered 
in the Bloody Tower, and buried at the foot of the north-east 
stair-case in the White Tower. 



Richard III. 1433—1485. 

Born 1452. Son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily, 
daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland. He was 
was married to Anne of Warwick, widow of Edward, Prince 
of Wales, who was murdered at Tewkesbury. He had one 
son, Edward, who died before his father. Richard was 
killed at the battle of Bosworth, and buried in the. Church 
of the Grey Friars at Leicester. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Earl of Richmond, sole representative of the House 
of Lancaster, who was in Brittany, agreed to marry Eliza- 
beth of York and lay claim to the crown. The Duke of 
Buckingham, head of the conspiracy in England, was taken 
and executed, and Henry was obliged to return to Brittany. 
5 



42 

Richard haviDg, as it is suspected, poisoned his wife, Anne 
of Warwick, proposed to marry his niece, Elizabeth of York. 
Henry's partisans advised him to prevent this marriage by 
a new invasion, and he landed at Milford Haven, Aug. 7th, 
1485. August 22d, Battle of Bosworth. Richard was 
killed, and the Earl of Richmond was proclaimed king, by 
the title of Henry VII. Thus ended the wars between the 
Houses of York and Lancaster. Richard was the last of the 
Plantagenets. 

The battle of Bosworth was more important in its con- 
sequences than any since the Conquest. The battle of 
Hastings brought in the feudal system, and the battle of 
Bosworth put an end to it entirely. On the one occasion 
the contest ceased at the fall of Harold, on the other upon 
the death of Richard. Richard wore his crown on the 
battle-field. It was taken by a soldier, who hid it in a 
hawthorn bush. Lord Stanley found the crown and placed 
it on the head of Henry VU. The latter assumed the 
device of a crown in a thorn bush, and from this circum- 
stance probably originates the old proverb : "Cleave to the 
crown, though it hang on a bush." There were fourteen 
sovereigns of the Plantagenet line. 



Plantagenet Line of Kings. 

Direct Line. 

Henry II., surnamed Plantagenet, 1154 — 1189 

Richard I., Coeur de Lion, " 1189—1199 

John Lackland, 1199—1216 

Henry III. of Winchester, 1216—1272 

Edward I , surnamed Longshanks, 1272 — 1307 

Edward II. of Caernarvon, 1307—1327 

Edward III. of Windsor, 1327—1377 

Richard II. of Bordeaux, 1377—1399 



43 

House of Lancaster. 

Henry IV., surnamed Bolingbroke, 1399 — 1413 

Henry V. of Monmouth, 1413—1422 

Henry VI of Westminster, 1422—1 461 

House of York. 

Edward IV. of York, 1461—1483 

Edward V. 1483 

Richard III. 1483—1485 



HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henry VII. 1485—1509. 

Born 1455. Son of Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and 
Margaret Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset. He 
married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV., and 
had four children : 

Arthur, married Katherine of Arragon and died young; 

Henry, who succeeded him; 

Margaret, married, first, James IV., of Scotland; and 
secondly, Douglas, Earl of Angus; 

Mary, married, first, Louis XII. of France, and secondly, 
Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 

Henry died at Richmond and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey in the magnificent chapel he built, and which is 
called by his name. 

The Queen was also buried in Westminster, and her 
monument is beside that of her royal husband. 

Henry was a wise and prudent sovereign, but he was 
arbitrary and tyrannical, and deservedly detested by his 
subjects. He was swayed by two ruling passions, avarice 
and hatred of the House of York. 



44 



Principal Events of his Reign. 

1487, imposture of Lambert Simnel, who announced that 
be was the young Earl of Warwick, son of George, Duke 
of Clarence. He was sustained by some Irish malcontents, 
and aided by Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, the sister of 
Edward IV. Henry publicly exhibited the real Earl of 
Warwick, who was a prisoner in the Tower, and soon 
quelled the rebellion. Lambert Simnel, who confessed that 
he was the son of a baker at Oxford, was made scullion 
in the king's kitchen, and by his good conduct rose to be 
falconer. In 1492 began the long and curious romance of 
Perkin Warbeck. He was the son of a merchant of Tour- 
nay, and his princely appearance and dignity of behavior 
well fitted him to personate Richard Plantagenet, the young 
Duke of York, who had been smothered in the tower. He 
was acknowledged by the Duchess of Burgundy as her 
nephew, and was kindly received at the court of James 
IV., the gallant and unfortunate Scottish king. He was 
married to the Lady Katherine Gordon, cousin of the 
king. Henry soon bought off James's allegiance to War- 
beck by the hand of his daughter Margaret, — this Prin- 
cess formed the link which in time bound the two king- 
doms in one. Perkin made an ineffectual attempt to push 
his fortunes in the south-western part of England; he was 
taken prisoner to the Tower, tried and condemned, and 
hanged at Tyburn. Three days after the Earl of Warwick 
was beheaded on Tower Hill. 

The rest of Henry's reign was spent in making foreign 
alliances and commercial treaties, and in amassing wealth; 
in attaining the latter object he was totally unscrupulous, 
and was aided chiefly by two unprincipled men, Empson 
and Dudley. In 1501. Arthur, prince of Wales, was mar- 
ried to Katherine of Arragon, daughter of Ferdinand and 
Isabella of Spain. The young prince died four months 



45 

after Lis marriage, and Henry, being unwilling to return 
the dowry of the Princess Katherine, negotiated a marriage 
between her and his second son, Henry. Henry VII. was 
despised and hated by his subjects, and, though by his wise 
policy he had greatly increased the prosperity of England, 
they hailed his death as a relief from the oppressions of a 
tyrant. 

This period is the transition from mediaeval to modern 
times. The power of the nobles was entirely broken, and 
instead of residing in feudal state in their own castles, they 
became dependents at the court of the sovereign. The 
popular power rose in opposite proportion, and the invention 
of printing, and the increase of commerce and manufactures, 
opened a new era to the middle and lower classes of Eng- 
land. 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America. 
1496, Henry sent out a small fleet of ships under the com- 
mand of John Cabot, a Venetian merchant. He discovered 
Newfoundland, and also the continent of America. His son 
Sebastian was as great a navigator as his father, and they 
were the pioneers in the brilliant path of discovery which 
opened such a rich and inexhaustible mine of wealth to the 
Old World. 

During this reign the Star Chamber was instituted or re- 
vived. It was an arbitrary court, so called from the hang- 
ings of the room in which it was held. It existed until the 
time of the Long Parliament. 



Henry VIII. 1507—1547. 

Born 1491. Son of Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York. 
He had six wives: 

1st. Katherine of Arragon, whom he divorced; 

5* 



46 

2d. Anne Boleyn, whom he beheaded; 

3d. Jane Seymour, who died a natural death; 

4th. Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced; 

5th. Katherine Howard, whom he beheaded; 

6th. Katherine Parr, who survived him. 

He had three children, all of whom succeeded to the 
throne: 

Edward, son of Jane Seymour; 

Mary, daughter of Katherine of Arragon; 

Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn. 

Henry died at Whitehall and was buried in St. George's 
Chapel, Windsor. This monarch was cruel and tyrannical, 
and has left a name which* will be deservedly odious through- 
out all time. He murdered more wives and executed more 
subjects than any Christian sovereign who ever lived; yet, 
strange to say, he never entirely alienated the affection of 
his people. He had the ability to select wise counsellors, 
and though some of them were wicked, none of them were 
weak; but he was entirely unscrupulous in his means for 
removing them whenever they had forfeited his favour. 

Only one of the queens of the royal Bluebeard lies by his 
side. Katherine of Arragon died at Kimbolton Castle, and 
was buried at Peterborough. Henry erected the beautiful 
Abbey-church as a monument to her memory. 

Anne Boleyn was beheaded within the Tower, on the 
space before the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula. The spot 
is marked by a slab with inscription recording the sad cir- 
cumstance. Her body was buried in St. Peter's Church 
in the Tower There is a tradition that it was secretly 
conveyed to, and interred in, Salle Church, the burial-place 
of the Boleyns, and that the spot is marked by a black 
marble slab without inscription; but this seems highly 
improbable. 

Jane Seymour died at Hampton Court, and was buried in 
St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 



47 

Anne of Cleves remained in England after her divorce 
She died at the Palace of Chelsea, and was buried in West- 
minster Abbey. 

Katherine Howard was executed on the same spot as 
Anne Boleyn, and was buried in St. Peter's Church in the 
Tower. 

Katherine Parr, after the death of Henry, married Lord 
Seymour. She died at Sudley Castle, and was buried in 
the Chapel of Sudley. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Henry commenced his reign very auspiciously. He uni- 
ted in his person the rival claims of the Yorkists and Lan- 
castrians, therefore he had an undisputed title, and the 
avarice of his father had provided him with an ample trea- 
sury. Soon after his accession Empson and Dudley were 
convicted of treason and executed. In June, 1509, Henry 
celebrated his marriage ceremonies with Katherine of Arra- 
gon, the dispensation for which had been granted six years 
previous. Henry was persuaded by his father-in-law, Fer- 
dinand of Spain, to join a league against France. August 
16th, 1513, Battle of the Spurs. James IV. of Scotland, 
the ally of France, invaded England. Sept. 9th, 1513, 
the Battle of Flodden Field; the English were victorious. 
James IV. was killed and left an infant son as heir to his 
throne. 1514, Mary, sister of the king, was married to 
Louis, king of France, who died soon afterwards. The 
king was guided almost entirely by the advice of Wolsey, 
his favourite. His contemporaries, Francis I. of France, and 
Charles V. of Spain and Emperor of Germany, both sought 
his alliance, and to effect their object courted the favor of Wol- 
sey. 1519, arrangements were made for a meeting between 
Henry and Francis, near Calais. As the former was on his 
way to France he received a visit from Charles V. at Can- 



48 

tcrbury, where the two kings kept Whitsuntide together. 
June 1619, Meeting of Henry and Francis near Ardres, 
known as the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." Henry wrote 
an attack on Luther, the German reformer, and obtained 
from Pope Leo X. the title of "Defender of the Faith." 
The ambitious Wolsey failed in his scheme to obtain the 
tiara, and as the king had adopted a new favourite, Sir 
Thomas More, he was doomed to fall. His disgrace was 
finally caused by the opposition he showed to Anne Boleyn. 
1533, The king divorced Katherine of Arragon, on the plea 
that it was not lawful to marry his brother's widow, but his 
true motive was the desire to marry Anne Boleyn, a daughter 
of Sir Thomas Boleyn of Norfolk, which he accomplished 
the same year. This divorce led to a separation from the 
Church of Rome, as the Pope opposed it and issued a bull 
against a second marriage. The king was much influenced 
by Cromwell, who suggested to Henry to declare himself 
head of the Church in his own dominions^ and, in 1534, an 
Act of Parliament gave him the title of, "Supreme Head 
on Earth of the Church of England." The blood-thirsty 
king threatened the lives of those who refused to acknow- 
ledge his supremacy; the most illustrious victims were 
Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More. — 
Thomas Cranmer obtained the king's notice by a proposal 
to submit the question of his divorce to the Universities of 
Europe. He was created Archbishop of Canterbury. Cran- 
mer advised the dissolution of the monasteries, and proposed 
that out of their revenues new bishoprics should be founded, 
and colleges of students of divinity annexed to every Cathe- 
dral. Unhappily his wise and noble policy was disregarded, 
and much of the revenue found its way into the king's trea- 
sury. It was owing to Cranmer that anything was left for 
the Church. 1536, Henry's affection for Anne Boleyn 
began to waver, and he sought a pretext to get rid of her. 
This was soon found, and she was tried, condemned, and 



49 

executed. Queen Anne was beheaded on the 19th of May, 
and on the 20th the king was married to Jane Seymour, 
daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wiltshire. The late 
innovations led to much discontent and several insurrec- 
tions, which were effectually repressed. Jane Seymour 
probably saved ber head by dying a natural death, and 
the king sought a foreign alliance. Cromwell proposed 
Anne, daughter of John, duke of Cleves. Hans Holbein 
painted a flattering portrait of the princess, and that deter- 
mined Henry to marry her. However, the original was so 
much less attractive than the picture, that Henry soon got 
tired of his new queen. Anne very willingly gave her con- 
sent to a divorce, and remained in England, comfortably 
enjoying the manors and estates which had been settled 
upon her. Cromwell fell into disfavour, and was executed 
July 28th, 1540. On the same day Henry married his 
fifth queen, Katherine, daughter of Lord Edmund Howard, 
and niece of the Duke of Norfolk. This lady he beheaded 
in 1542. The same year James V. of Scotland died 
of a broken heart, leaving as his heir a daughter a few 
weeks old, the celebrated Marie Stuart, Queen of Scots. 
1543, Henry married Katherine Parr, daughter of Sir 
Thomas Parr of Westmoreland Henry was engaged for 
about two years in a war with France, it was attended with 
little advantage to either side, and was terminated by the 
treaty of Boulogne. One of Henry's last acts was to cause 
the Duke of Norfolk, and his accomplished son Henry How- 
ard, Earl of Surrey, to be arrested for treason. Surrey was 
beheaded, but Henry died the day before that appointed for 
the execution of the sentence upon the Duke of Norfolk, 
who was thus spared. 

Thomas Wolsey, the son of a butcher at Ipswich, was 
"fashioned to much honor from his cradle." He rose to be 
a Cardinal, and aspired to the Papacy. He lived in a style 



50 

of princely splendour, built Hampton Court Palace, and 
founded Christ Church College, Oxford. He died at Lei- 
cester Abbey. Wolsey's qualities, good and bad, have been 
immortalized by Shakspeare in the dialogue between Queen 
Katharine and Griffith, in the drama of Henry VIII. 

The Reformation is dated from the reign of Henry VIII. , 
but the seeds of this important change had been sown 
nearly two centuries before, and were now springing forth to 
bear abundant fruit. Miles Coverdale was the first to trans- 
late the whole Bible into English; the first edition was 
printed in Zurich. Cranmer's or the Great Bible was 
printed in 1538. In that year injunctions were given to 
set up the Bible in parish churches. 

The battle of Flodden Field is celebrated in Sir Walter 
Scott's poem, Marmion. This defeat was a blow from which 
Scotlaud never recovered. 

The celebrated literary men of this reign were : Sir 
Thomas Wyatt, a poet, the friend of Lord Surrey, who 
was also a poet; Sir Thomas More, author of Utopia; Wil- 
liam Tyndale, a translator of the Bible; and Erasmus, a 
native of Holland, who was Greek Professor at the University 
of Cambridge. Hans Holbein, a native of Augsburg, was 
Henry VIII's favourite painter. St. Paul's School, Lon- 
don, was founded during this reign. 



Edward YI. 1547—1553. 

Born 1537. Son of Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour. 
He died at Greenwich at the age of sixteen, and was ^buried 
in Westminster Abbey. 

Edward was a prince of much promise; he possessed tal- 



51 

ents and acquirements beyond his years. His diary, still 
preserved in the British Museum, is very remarkable, 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Earl of Hertford, uncle of the young king, was 
appointed Protector. He was soon after created Duke of 
Somerset. 1547, the Protector led an army across the bor- 
der for the purpose of forcing the Scots to consent to 
the union of the two kingdoms by the marriage of Edward 
VI. and Mary, Queen of Scots. The English gained a 
decided victory at the battle of Pinkie, but the Protector 
did not pursue his advantages and returned to England. 
Shortly afterwards the Scots sent their Queen to France, 
where she married the dauphin, afterwards Francis II. 
1549, Parliament passed "An Act for the Uniformity of 
service." The result of this was the "Book of the Com- 
mon Prayer," based upon the ancient catholic services 
which had been transmitted from the early days of the 
Church. Cranmer greatly aided the work by his zeal and 
sound judgment. He drew up Forty-two Articles, from which 
the Thirty-nine Articles now in force are derived, and com- 
piled the Church Catechism, except the latter part concern- 
ing the Sacraments. The greater part of the people were 
with the Reformers, but some who resisted the movement 
were chiefly encouraged in their opposition by Gardiner, bish- 
op of Winchester, and Bonner, bishop of London, who were 
deposed from from their sees and imprisoned. The Protec- 
tor had a fatal quarrel with his brother, Admiral Lord Sey- 
mour, who, on the loss of his wife, the dowager-Queen, 
Catharine Parr, aspired to the hand of the Princess Eliza- 
beth. Seymour was condemned by a bill of attainder, and 
executed on Tower Hill, March 20th, 1549. 1548—1549, 
Insurrections broke out in Cornwall, Devonshire, and Norfolk; 
the latter was headed by one Ket, a tanner. The Protector 
became unpopular, and a confederacy, headed by the 



52 

Earl of Warwick, was formed against him. The latter 
was created Duke of Northumberland. Somerset was first 
deprived of his protectorship and afterwards condemned to 
death. He was executed on Tower Hill, Jan. 22d, 1552. 
The Duke of Northumberland, having got rid of his great 
rival, was now the ruling power in the kingdom, though he 
had no direct authority. He influenced Edward to make a 
will, by which the crown was left to Lady Jane Grey, 
to the exclusion of the princesses Mary and Elizabeth. 
Lady Jane Grey was descended from Mary, sister of Henry 
VIII., and Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. She was married to 
Lord Guilford Dudley, fourth son of the Duke of Northum- 
berland. Edward was dying of consumption and was com- 
pletely in the power of the Duke. He closed his life with a 
prayer for England and the Church of England. 

Edward VI. founded Christ's Hospital, London, on the 
site of the Grey Friars Monastery. It is generally called 
"The Blue Coat School" from the dress worn by the schol- 
ars. The Book of Homilies was compiled by Cranmer and 
Ridley. The latter had been made Bishop of London upon 
the deposition of Bonner. 



Mary I. 1553—1558. 

Born 1516. Daughter of Henry VIII. and Katharine of 
Arragon. She was married to Philip II. of Spain and had no 
children. She died in St. James's Palace, London, and was 
buried in Westminster Abbey. 

Principal Events of her Reign. 

Upon the death of Edward VI. the Duke of Northum- 
land hastened to proclaim Lady Jane Grey. In the mean- 
time Mary was coming to London to claim the throne. 



63 

Popular justice declared for Mary, and in ten days all those 
who had endeavoured to set aside her succession were prison- 
ers in the Tower. Northumberland and his associates were 
convicted of high-treason and beheaded. Sentence was 
pronounced against Lady Jane Grey and her husband, Guil- 
ford Dudley, but the execution of it was delayed for the 
time. Mary reinstated Gardiner and Bonner in their sees, 
and took the former as her chief adviser in civil and ecclesi- 
astical affairs; the Protestant bishops were imprisoned, and 
the Roman Catholic religion was restored. Mary soon after 
her accession proposed to marry her kinsman, Philip of 
Spain; this project was very unpopular to the English, and 
several attempts were made to resist the marriage by force 
of arms. The most successful rebellion was made in Kent, 
by Sir Thomas Wyatt; he penetrated as far as London, but, 
finding nothing but opposition, was obliged to give up and 
was taken prisoner near Temple Bar. This insurrection 
sealed the fate of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guilford Dud- 
ley, who were beheaded, Feby. 12th, 1554. Wyatt was 
executed two months later. 

Mary accused her sister Elizabeth of being implicated in 
Wyatt's rebellion, and imprisoned her in the Tower. The 
Princess was afterwards removed to the Palace of Wood- 
stock, and kept under strict surveillance. June 25th, 1554, 
Mary was married to Philip of Spain; the ceremony took 
place at Winchester. In November Cardinal Pole came 
over to England as a legate from the Pope, and, after some 
concession* from Parliament, he pronounced the kingdom 
reconciled to the apostolic see. 

Now followed the Marian persecution, which has left an 
indelible stain upon the name of the Queen, and made her 
known to all posterity as "Bloody Mary." Two hundred 
and seventy- seven persons perished at the stake, but, as in 
the primitive ages, "the blood of martyrs was the seed of 
the Church." We speak of "the fires of Smithfield," but it 
6 



54 

was not only in London that the bloody work went on, many 
suffered in the counties. John Rogers wasethe first who was 
martyred, he was burnt at Smithfield; Hooper at Gloucester; 
Rowland Taylor at Hadley; Bradford and Philpot at 
Smithfield; Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, at Oxford. The 
spot where the last three were executed is marked by "the 
Martyrs' Memorial." Fuller says, "of all the Marian mar- 
tyrs, Mr. Philpot was the best born gentleman; Bishop Rid- 
ley the profoundest scholar; Mr. Bradford the holiest and 
devoutest man; Archbishop Cranmer of the mildest and 
meekest temper; Bishop Hooper of the sternest and aus- 
terest nature; Dr. Taylor had the merriest and pleasantest 
wit; Mr, Latimer had the plainest and simplest heart." 
After Cranmer's death Cardinal Pole was made Archbishop 
of Canterbury. 

1557, Philip persuaded Mary to undertake a war with 
France to support Spanish interests. This was brought to 
a disastrous end by the loss of Calais, in January, 1558. 
This was the last French town held by the English, in 
whose possession it had been for over two hundred years. 
This and other disappointments greatly affected the Queen's 
health, and hastened her death. "When I die, Calais will 
be found written on my heart," were the words she uttered 
in the depth of her misery. Cardinal Pole died on the same 
day as the Queen. Something may be said in extenuation 
of Mary's character, as her early training and misfortunes 
had not developed her more amiable qualities, but she was 
naturally a tyrant, like her father, with this distinction, that 
Henry was a tyrant without a conscience, and Mary a tyrant 
with one. 

In this reign coaches were first introduced. 



55 



Elizabeth. 1558—1603. 

Born 1535. Daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn 
She never married. Died at Richmond, and was buried in 
Westminster Abbey in the same vault with her sister 
Mary. Her successor, James I., erected a noble monument 
to her memory. 

In Elizabeth were united the good and bad qualities of 
her race. Her glorious reign has rendered her the most 
popular of English sovereigns, and her people delighted 
to call her "G-ood Queen Bess." Her character was two- 
fold; as a ruler she was wise and politic, and, though 
tyrannical, she commanded the homage and admiration of 
her subjects, for her one sole aim was the peace and pros- 
perity of her kingdom. As a woman, she displayed very 
different qualities; she was vain and weak, and had an 
insatiable love of admiration. The greatest blot on her 
memory is her treatment of Mary Queen of Scots, but even 
that admits of some extenuation, and it is not easy to regard 
it with unpredjudiced eye whilst so much romance and sym- 
pathy attach to the unfortunate Marie Stuart. 

Principal Events of her Reign. 

Elizabeth's accession was hailed with great joy by the 
people, and, until recently, the 17th of November was called 
in honor of it, "The Queen's Day." Cecil, afterwards Lord 
Burleigh, was the chief adviser of Elizabeth. Through 
his counsels and those of his brother-in-law, Sir Nicholas 
Bacon, Lord-Keeper of the Seal, the Church was gradu- 
ally restored to the condition it was in during the reign 
of Edward VI. The nation generally acquiesced in the 
Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, and for some time the 
Church of England was the only religion of the king- 
dom, and was neither opposed by Romanism nor Dissent. 



56 

Elizabeth resolved to remain unmarried, although her royal 
hand was sought by a long list of suitors, foremost among 
whom were Philip II. of Spain, and two of the French 
princes. In 1568, the party of Marie Stuart in Scotland was 
entirely defeated near Glasgow, and the beautiful and un- 
happy queen sought refuge in the dominions of her cousin 
Elizabeth. She landed at Workington in Cumberland, and 
immediately sent to the Queen to entreat her protection and 
aid. The latter refused to see her until she could clear her- 
self of the grave charge of having assassinated her husband, 
Lord Darnley. Mary was removed from castle to castle 
until finally she was imprisoned in Fotheringay, During 
her captivity of nearly nineteen long years, numerous con- 
spiracies were formed to overthrow Elizabeth and place 
Mary upon the throne. The most formidable were that 
headed by the Duke of Norfolk, and Babington's Plot. 
After the frustration of the latter the Queen's ministers 
advised that some decisive step should be taken, and Mary 
was tried, and condemned to suffer death for high-treason. 
The sentence was executed at Fotheringay Castle, February 
8th, 1587. The next year, 1588, Philip II. of Spain sent 
his formidable Armada to invade England. The English 
zealously prepared for resistance; Lord Howard of Effing- 
ham was in command of the navy, and Drake, Hawkins, and 
Frobisher were amongst those who served under him. The 
land forces were collected at Tilbury, and there the Queen 
herself reviewed them, and delivered that famous oration 
which roused the courage and loyalty of her subjects to the 
highest degree. The winds aided the gallant English navy, 
and of the one hundred and thirty ships of the "Invincible 
Armada," but fifty-three returned to Spain to bear the 
tidings of their defeat. 1596, Expedition to Cadiz, which 
proved very disastrous to the English. 1599, The Earl of 
Tyrone was in insurrection in Ireland, and the Queen's 
favourite, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was appointed 



57 

Lord Lieutenant of that country to put down the rebellion. 
Essex managed affairs badly, and, having returned to Eng- 
land without permission, fell into disgrace with the Queen. 
His subsequent conduct did not tend to reinstate him in her 
favour, and, in 1601, he was seized and conveyed a prisoner 
to the Tower. His trial and condemnation speedily fol- 
lowed, and he was beheaded on Tower Hill. Mountjoy, the 
successor of Essex in Ireland, defeated Tyrone and com- 
pelled him to surrender. In March, 1603, the Queen died, 
having equivocally named James VI. of Scotland, as her 
successor. 

During this reign Sir Thomas Gresham, a relative of the 
Queen, founded the "Royal Exchange," which was opened 
by Elizabeth in person. 

The bounds of the English nation were much extended 
by the discoveries of Gilbert, Drake, Frobisher, and 
Raleigh; and in 1600, the East India Company was founded. 

It is in literature, however, that the "Elizabethan Age" 
is chiefly illustrious. The Queen, "that bright occidental 
star of most happy memory," was a woman of high attain- 
ments, and a warm encourager of learning and literary men. 
Among the great statesmen of this period were William 
Cecil, Lord Burleigh; Francis Bacon, Earl of Yerulam; 
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and favourite of the 
Queen; and Francis Walsingham. Among the poets and 
prose writers, Richard Hooker, Beaumont and Fletcher, 
Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, 
and William Shakspeare, are names unrivalled in any age 
or country. Elizabeth founded Trinity College, Dublin; 
and Westminster School, London. 



6* 



58 



SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henry VII. 1485—1509. 

Henry VIII. 1509—1547. 

Edward VI. 1547—1553. 

Mary I. 1553—1558. 

Elizabeth, 1558—1603. 



HOUSE OF STUART. 
James I. 1603—1625. 

Born 1566. Son of Lord Darnley and Mary, Queen of 
Scots. He was married to Anne of Denmark, and had 
several children, only three of whom survived the age of 
childhood; 

Henry, who died at the age of eighteen; 

Charles, who succeeded his father; 

Elizabeth, married Frederick, Elector-Palatine and 
ex-king of Bohemia. 

James died in the palace of Theobalds, and was buried 
in Westminster Abbey. He earned the reputation of being 
"the wisest fool in Christendom;" he was a scholar without 
having the sense to avail himself of his learning; in person 
he was ungainly, his manners were awkward, his habits very 
unbecoming his station, and his lack of personal courage 
provoked the contempt of his courtiers. He was much 
influenced by unworthy favourites, upon whom he lavished 
his revenues; but whatever were the faults and frailties 
of his life, on his death-bed he showed Christian courage 
and resignation. As a sovereign James was unpopular, he 
held the belief in the Divine right of kings, and was very 
despotic. He was always an advocate for peace, and will- 
ing to make any concessions for its preservation. 



59 



Principal Events of his Reign. 

James chose as his prime minister Robert Cecil, son of 
the great Lord Burleigh, to the exclusion of Cecil's rival, Sir 
Walter Raleigh. The latter was accused of being concerned 
in a plot for placing on the throne Lady Arabella Stuart, 
cousin of the king, and was imprisoned in the Tower for 
twelve years. 1605, Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, 
which was a scheme of the Romanists for destroying the king, 
the Prince of Wales, and the Parliament, by blowing up the 
Houses of Parliament on the opening of the session, Nov. 
5th. Guy Fawkes was seized in the vaults, and he finally 
made a confession which revealed the other conspirators. 
Some of them were executed, and others of them were 
killed in trying to resist the party sent to arrest them. 
1612, died Henry, Prince of Wales, a youth of great 
promise. On the death of Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, 
the king took as his prime favourite a Scotch adventurer 
named Robert Carr, whom he created Earl of Somerset. 
The Earl and his wife were accused of being implicated in 
the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, and upon the arrival 
of a new favourite at court, George Villiers, they were tried 
and sentenced to be banished the kingdom. The new 
favourite was made Duke of Buckingham, and loaded 
with honours. 1617, Sir Walter Raleigh was released for 
the purpose of undertaking an expedition to Guiana, but, 
as it proved unsuccessful, the unfortunate man was arrested 
and convicted under his former sentence. He was executed 
in the Old Palace Yard, Westminster. 1619, the English 
were very desirous to render assistance to the Elector-Pala- 
tine, who had been elected King of Bohemia. James re- 
fused aid until too late, and the Prince lost both Bohemia 
and the Palatinate. James was continually at variance 
with his Parliament, who refused to grant the subsidies he 



60 

demanded. A marriage between "Baby Charles" and 
the Infanta of Spain now became the darling scheme of 
James, and negotiations ensued. The prince, becoming 
weary of the delay which attended them, set out for Spain 
with the Duke of Buckingham, travelling incognito. The 
king demanded, as a condition of the marriage, that his son- 
in-law should be restored to the Palatinate, but as this was 
refused by the King of Spain, the treaty was broken off. 
Application was then made for the hand of Henrietta Maria, 
daughter of Henry IV. of France, and whilst the negotia- 
tions were pending the king died. 

During this reign English colonies were established in 
North America. The two principal were the settlement of 
Jamestown in Virginia, by the London or South Virginia 
Company, in 1607; and that at Massachusetts Bay, by the 
Plymouth Company, in 1620. James renewed the charter of 
the East India Company, which had been granted but for a 
limited time, and thus the foreign trade of the kingdom was 
greatly increased. The authorized translation of the Bible 
was published in 1611. It was the work of 47 learned men, 
from the Universities and Westminster; it has ever since 
been the only version in the English language acknowledged 
by the Anglican Church, and is the noblest monument of the 
Anglo-Saxon language. 

Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor, 

"The greatest, wisest, meanest of mankind." 

was, in 1621, found guilty of bribery, and disgraced from his 
high position. Elizabeth, daughter of James I., was the 
heroine of a sad romance. Reduced by her husband's mis- 
fortunes to absolute penury, she still showed a brave spirit, 
and occupied herself in the education of her children. Her 
sons, Prince Charles and Prince Rupert, subsequently joined 
their unfortunate uncle, Charles I.; and it was through her 



61 

youngest daughter Sophia, who married Ernest Augustus, 
of Brunswick, and was the mother of George I., that the pre- 
sent royal family came to the throne. The following popu- 
lar rhyme will aid the memory in retaining the date of the 
gunpowder plot: 

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, 
The Gunpowder plot, shall ne'er be forgot." 



Charles I. 1625—1649. 

Born 1600. Son of James I. and Anne of Denmark. 
Married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France, 
and had seven children. Those best known are: 

Charles, afterwards Charles II.; 

James, Duke of York, who also succeeded to the throne; 

Mary, married to William II., Prince of Orange; 

Henrietta, married to Philip, Duke of Orleans. 

He was beheaded before the palace of Whitehall; and 
buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In personal ap- 
pearance Charles presented a great contrast to his father; he 
was gifted with intellect and taste, in manner the most accom- 
plished gentleman in England, and possessed of a courtly 
grace and fascination which few could resist. His private 
character was unblameable. As a sovereign, it was his mis- 
fortune to have fallen upon evil days, and like the luckless 
Louis XVI. of France, (between whom and himself there is a 
striking parallel), he was the innocent victim of the sins and 
follies of his ancestors. He inherited from his father high 
ideas of the kingly prerogative, and also his failing of being 
influenced by his favourites. He was infirm of purpose, and 
has been charged with a want of sincerity; but when his for- 
tunes fell and he was in the hands of his enemies, his char- 
acter beamed with all the virtues of a Christian and a gen- 
tleman. The greatest fault of his reign was his weakness 



62 

in consenting to the sacrifice of Stafford, a fatal step which 
was subsequently visited upon him in his own misfortunes, 
and which he bitterly regretted to his dying hour on the 
scaffold. The King was attended on that awful occasion by 
Bishop Juxon. The last sentence he uttered was, "I go 
from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown," and before 
laying his head on the block he uttered the mysterious word, 
"Kern ember." 

Until the year 1859, the 30th of January was appointed 
throughout the English dominions as a day of national hu- 
miliation, and a special service was used appropriate to the 
commemoration This observance was abolished by Act of 
Parliament, as also the holidays on the anniversaries of the 
Gunpowder Plot, and the restoration of Charles II. 

Henrietta Maria was not a favourite with the English peo- 
ple. During her royal husband's troubles, in 1644, she 
escaped to France, where she received an affectionate wel- 
come. [Jpon the restoration she went to England but soon 
returned to France, where she died at the palace of Colombe, 
near Paris. Her funeral oration was pronounced by the 
celebrated Bossuet. Her heart was given to the Nuns of 
the Convent of Chaillot, which she had founded, and her 
body was buried with her fathers at St. Denis. 

Principal Events of Ms Reign. 

The marriage with the French princess, which had been 
negotiated in the previous reign, was concluded by proxy 
before James was laid in the tomb. The New Parliament, 
which assembled in June 1625, refused to grant supplies to 
Charles, who immediately raised loans from private per- 
sons, and fitted out an expedition to Cadiz, which terminated 
very disastrously for the English. The next Parliament 
impeached Buckingham of high treason. The king was 
indignant, forced upon his favourite as indemnity the Chan- 



63 

cellorship of the University of Oxford, and, to save him 
from further prosecution, dissolved the Parliament. 

In 1627, Charles sent a fleet to the assistance of the Hu- 
guenots, who were besieged in La Rochelle; it was com- 
manded by the Duke of Buckingham, and terminated most 
ingloriously for the English. The next Parliament refused 
to grant subsidies until Charles gave his assent to the cele- 
brated "Petition of Right." He did this in a way which 
offended the Commons and they renewed their attack upon 
Buckingham, whom the king continued to uphold. The 
favourite went to Portsmouth to superintend preparations 
for a new attack upon La Rochelle, and was there assassi- 
nated by a man named John Felton. The expedition to La 
Rochelle was intrusted to the Earl of Lindsey, but he 
arrived too late to relieve the Huguenots, who had been 
obliged to surrender. 

The Parliament of 1629 was a very stormy one. The 
principal question at issue was the royal right to levy ton- 
nage and poundage, but political questions had become em- 
bittered by religious differences. Oliver Cromwell made 
his maiden-speech during this session. A great tumult 
having arisen in the House of Commons, the king went 
there in person, but was refused admittance. Indignant at 
these proceedings Charles immediately dissolved Parliament, 
and declared his intention to rule alone, and for eleven 
years England was under absolute government. During 
this period two men became very prominent, Sir Thomas 
Wentworth, afterward Earl of Strafford; and Laud, Bishop 
of London, afterward Archbishop of Canterbury. The 
authority of the Star Chamber was much extended, and 
some heavy fines and severe punishments were imposed. In 
1634, a tax called ship-money was levied. The maritime 
counties complied cheerfully, but those in the interior re- 
fused to pay it. The first to protest was John Hampden. 
His cause was tried in Westminster Hall, where decision 



64 

was given in favour of the crown. But having withstood 
Charles "with dauntless breast," he was exalted by public 
opinion to a hero and patriot, and became one of the king's 
most powerful opponents. About this time Charles en- 
deavored to establish Episcopacy in Scotland, but it met 
with the most violent opposition. The Presbyterians banded 
themselves together by a ' 'Solemn League and Covenant," 
and raised a considerable army. In 1640, as war with 
Scotland seemed inevitable and Charles was totally without 
means to carry it on, he was obliged to assemble Parliament. 
As the latter refused supplies and disapproved his arbitrary 
measures. Charles speedily dissolved it again to the great 
discontent of the people. Meantime the difficulties between 
the king and Scotland grew worse. The Scots under Leslie 
crossed into England, and, after a successful skirmish, took 
possession of Newcastle. The king summoned a Council at 
York, in which it was decided that no appeal to arms should 
be made for two months, that a Parliament should be called 
to settle the difficulties, and that during the interval the 
Scots should be maintained at the expense of the northern 
English counties. November 3d, 1640, the famous "Long 
Parliament" met. Strafford was impeached by the Com- 
mons of High Treason, and a few days afterwards Laud was 
arrested on the same charge. Strafford was tried in West- 
minster Hall and a Bill of Attainder passed against him. 
The king was in an agonizing state of irresolution whether 
to sign the bill or to save his faithful favourite. His fears 
finally prevailed, and his assent to the execution was given. 
When Strafford heard it he exclaimed, ' 'Put not your trust in 
princes." The Star Chamber was abolished, and several 
other arbitrary measures reformed. Charles went to Scot- 
land, and was rapidly recovering the popular favour, when 
his cause was materially injured by a rebellion in Ireland. 
In 1642, Charles came to an open rupture with the Parlia- 
ment, and both parties felt that there was no appeal but to 



65 

the sword. The king and his sons, the Prince of the Wales 
and the Duke of York, went to York. He demanded admit- 
tance into Hull, the military magazine of the North, but, being 
refused by the governor, he was compelled to active measures 
and set up his standard at Nottingham, August 20th, 1642. 
For the next six years raged all the horrors of civil war. — 
The king was supported by the clergy, the landed gentry, 
the Universities, and the majority of the nobles; amongst 
his generals were his nephew, Prince Rupert, Lord Lindsay, 
and the Marquis of Newcastle. Lord Falkland adhered to 
the royal cause, but he was bitterly opposed to the struggle. 
The Parliamentarians consisted of the middle classes of 
England, of tradesmen, shopkeepers, dissenters, and a mi- 
nority of the nobility; among their leaders were John Hamp- 
den, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Essex, Lord Fairfax, Sir Wil- 
liam Waller, and the Earl of Manchester. 

The first engagement was fought at Edgehill, October 
23d, 1642, without any decided result. Charles made 
Oxford his head-quarters. Battles and sieges followed. 
Hampden was killed at Chalgrave, near Oxford. The 
Scots joined .their forces with those of the Parliament, and 
Prince Rupert was totally defeated at Marston Moor, July 
2d, 1644. By this reverse the king lost the northern coun- 
ties. In 1645, after a long imprisonment, Archbishop 
Laud was tried, condemned, and executed. The king's last 
battle was fought at Naseby, June 14th, 1645; the Par- 
liamentary forces were completely victorious, the king was 
obliged to flee, and his army was broken and dispersed. 
The fall of Bristol completed the ruin of the royalists, and 
the king, driven to extreme measures, sought refuge amongst 
his countrymen, the Scots. To their lasting disgrace they 
sold him to the English Parliament for £400,000, and he 
was conveyed to Holmby House, Northamptonshire, one of 
his own royal residences. Meantime there were dissensions 
amongst his enemies, and the army, led on by Cromwell, 
7 



66 

arrayed itself against the Parliament. The king was for- 
cibly taken to Hampton Court, from whence he escaped to 
Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight. Cromwell prepared the 
way for severe measures against the king, by excluding all 
members from Parliament who were not Independents and 
Republicans. He was aided in this arbitrary proceeding 
by Colonel Pride, and it is known as "Pride's Purge." 
Charles was taken from Carisbrooke to Hurst Castle, to 
Windsor, and finally to St. James's Palace, London. He 
was tried by a High Court of Justice appointed solely by 
the Commons, who were assembled in Westminster Hall, 
and sentenced to death. He was beheaded at Whitehall, 
January 30th, 1649. 

During the civil war of this reign the Eoyalists assumed 
the name of Cavaliers, and were distinguished by their long, 
flowing locks; the Parliamentarians were called Roundheads, 
from their close cropped hair. At this period lived William 
Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood, He 
announced this important discovery in 1616. At the battle 
of Edgehill he was guardian to the Princes Charles and 
James. During this reign died John Donne and George 
Herbert, eminent divines; and Ben Jonson, a celebrated 
dramatic writer. 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 1649—1660. 

On the death of Charles I. the Commonwealth was pro- 
claimed, and the House of Lords was declared by the Com- 
mons to be "useless and dangerous." Cromwell was ap- 
pointed Lord Lieutenant to Ireland, and having tranquil- 
lized that country left his son-in-law, Ireton, as his deputy, 
and went to settle affairs in Scotland. The Scots had 
refused to acknowledge the Republic, and had proclaimed 



67 

Prince Charles as their King. Charles landed in Scotland 
in 1650, but he was little more than a prisoner in the hands 
of his adherents. Parliament prepared to defend the Com- 
monwealth, and Cromwell was appointed Commander-in- 
chief of its armies. 

The Scottish army, commanded by General Leslie, was 
defeated at Dunbar. Charles was crowned at Scone, Jan- 
uary 1st, 165 1. On the 3d of September of the same year 
he was totally defeated at Worcester, and obliged to flee to 
France. 

The English navy, under command of Blake, Monk, and 
Penn, gained signal victories over the Dutch fleet under 
Van Tromp and De Ruyter. In April, 1653, Cromwell 
took the extraordinary measure of disbanding the Long- 
Parliament. Having dismissed the members, he locked the 
doors, put the keys in his pocket, and returned to White- 
hall, where he had taken up his residence, Dictator of Eng- 
land. The Long Parliament was succeeded by the Little 
Parliament, or as it is sometimes called from one of its chief 
orators, Barebone's Parliament, which consisted of members 
approved by Cromwell. December 16th, 1653, Oliver 
Cromwell was made "Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 
of England, Scotland and Ireland." The Republic was 
very prosperous; Jamaica was taken from the Spaniards, 
the power of Holland was humbled, the cause of the perse- 
cuted Vaudois was vindicated, commerce flourished, and in 
all the civilized states of Europe the English power was felt 
and respected. But though the nation was in high esteem 
abroad, at home there was much secret discontent. Crom- 
well sought the title as well as power of King, but when it 
was offered him by Parliament he did not dare to accept, 
and he lived in constant dread of assassination. This appre- 
hension and domestic afflictions hurried him to the grave, 
and he died at Whitehall, September 3d, 1658. Richard 
Cromwell, his eldest son, was immediately proclaimed head 



68 

of the Commonwealth, but his tastes and political feelings 
ill-qualified him for the position. He soon signed an abdi- 
cation, and the Long Parliament was restored. General 
Monk, who was in command of the English army in Scot- 
land, marched on to London, called a new Parliament, and 
proposed the restoration of Charles Stuart to the throne of 
his ancestors. This proposal was received with universal 
joy, and May 8th, Charles II. was proclaimed King, and 
the Commonwealth was at an end. 

During the period of the Republic and the next two 
reigns, many great names flourished in literature. Jeremy 
Taylor, an eminent divine, chaplain to Laud, suffered 
greatly during the civil wars, and on the restoration was 
made Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland. "The 
quaint Fuller," Bishop Hall, Isaac Barrow, and Archbishop 
Leighton, were also prominent among English divines, 
Cowley, Marvell, Butler, and Waller, were distinguished as 
poets; Sir Matthew Hale as one of the most upright of 
judges; Lord Clarendon as an historian; and Izaak Walton 
as a biographer, and more particularly as the "Father of 
Anglers." But the greatest name in this period of litera- 
ture was that of John Milton, Latin Secretary to Cromwell, 
the uncompromising Puritan, and the author of Paradise 
Lost. 

Oliver Cromwell, "the uncrowned King of England," 
was born in Huntingdon, and descended from au ancient 
and honourable house. He is one of the most extraordi- 
nary men in history; and owed his success chiefly to his 
great political talents, his courage, and indomitable energy. 
His peculiarities were not unlike those of the great Na- 
poleon, and no occasion was too dignified or important to 
restrain him from indulging his passion for practical jokes. 
His love for his family was the most amiable trait of his 
character, but his children did not share his ambition, and 



69 

disapproved his course. Cromwell was buried in West- 
minster Abbey, but on the Restoration his body was ex- 
humed, hanged at Tyburn, and buried under the gallows. 
Richard Cromwell, after his abdication, spent some time 
in travelling, and then settled down in obscurity on his farm 
of Cheshunt in Herts, where he died at a good old age. It 
is said that he changed his name to Clark. 



Charles II. 1660—1685. 

Born 1630. Son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria of 
France. He was married to Catherine of Braganza, by 
whom he had no children. He died at Whitehall, and was 
buried in Westminster Abbey. Charles was possessed of 
excellent qualities, but they were almost obscured by his 
great vices and follies, and he had not profited by the les- 
sons of adversity Rochester was the author of the follow- 
ing epigram on the "Merry Monarch :" 

"Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King, 
Whose word no one relies on, 
He never said a foolish thing, 
And never did a wise one." 

Catherine of Braganza survived Charles. At the Revolu- 
tion of 1688 she returned to Portugal, where she died. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Charles chose Edward Hyde (afterwards Lord Clarendon), 
the faithful friend of his exile, to be Chancellor and Lord- 
Keeper of the Seal. An Act of Indemnity was passed 
pardoning all who had taken part against the Crown, ex- 
cepting those who were immediately concerned in the King's 
death. In 1663, Dunkirk was sold to France for £400,000. 
War was declared against Holland, February *22d, 1665. 
7* 



70 

The Duke of York was in command of the navy, and gained 
a signal victory off the coast of Suffolk. In the same year 
the plague broke out, and raged with dreadful violence, and 
the following year, 1666, the Great Fire destroyed about 
five-sixths of the whole City of London. Louis XIV. of 
France united with the Dutch against England, and, in 
1667, De Ruyter sailed up the Thames and burned several 
ships at Chatham. A disgraceful peace was soon afterwards 
concluded, and the English had gained but little advantage 
during the war except the acquisition of New York in North 
America. Clarendon was unjustly blamed for the reverses 
of the English, and dismissed from office. The ministry 
then formed was called the "Cabal," from the initial 
letters of the names of its members : Clifford, Ashley, Buck- 
ingham, Arlington and Lauderdale. 1668, the "triple 
alliance" was formed to check the ambitious progress of Louis 
XIV. In this reign the Habeas Corpus Act was passed, 
and a bill was introduced to exclude the Duke of York from 
the succession, as he was a Roman Catholic, but it was 
rejected. There were several conspiracies formed to over- 
throw the Government, the chief of which were the plot of 
Titus Gates, that of Monmouth and Algernon Sidney, and 
the Rye House plot. Several of the conspirators were exe- 
cuted; the most bitterly lamented was Lord Russell, a very 
popular man. Charles died in the Romish faith. A mod- 
ern historian has thus briefly painted his character: "The 
falsest, meanest, merriest of mankind." 

In the diaries of Pepys and John Evelyn we have a 
graphic picture of the court life of this reign. Sir Chris- 
topher Wren, the famous architect, rebuilt St. Paul's, and 
many of the city churches, which had been destroyed by the 
Great Fire. He designed the monument on Fish-street hill, 
which is erected on the spot where the fire first broke out. 



71 

Sir Christopher Wren is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. 
Charles II. founded Chelsea Hospital. 

In 1682, Pennsylvania was settled by Quakers under 
William Penn. 



James II. 1685-1688. 

Born 1633. Son of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria of 
France. He was married, first, to Anne Hyde, daughter of 
Lord Clarendon, by whom he had two daughters; 

Mary, married William of Nassau, Prince of Orange; 

Anne, married George, Prince of Denmark. 

Secondly, he married Mary Beatrice of Modena, by whom 
he had a son, 

James Francis Edward, afterwards called the Pretender. 

He died at St. Germains, and was buried in the church 
of the English Benedictines in Paris. In 1813, his remains 
were removed to St. Germains. James was unpopular 
before he came to the throne, he was bigoted and arbitrary, 
and his determination to force Papacy upon the nation lost 
him his crown. After his expulsion he retired to Frauce, 
where he was received with great generosity by Louis XIV. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

James commenced his reign by attempts to re-establish 
the Roman Catholic religion, which gave great displeasure 
to the nation. 

The Duke of Monmouth raised a rebellion in the west of 
England. It proved unsuccessful, and Monmouth was cap- 
tured and taken to London, where he was executed on 
Tower Hill. His followers were tried by the cruel Judge 



72 

Jeffries, and butchered without mercy; even innocent women 
were not spared, and Alice Lisle, deaf, aged, and feeble, was 
executed at Westminster for having lodged two fugitives 
from the battle. James grew more and more bold in his 
efforts to restore Papacy; he forced prelates of his own faith 
on the Universities, and issued a "Declaration for Liberty 
of Conscience," which was levelled against the liberties of 
the Church of England. Seven Bishops petitioned against 
it; Sancroft, the Primate; Lloyd, of St. Asaph; Turner, of 
Ely; Lake, of Chichester; Ken, of Bath and Wells; White, 
of Peterborough; and Trelawney, of Bristol. They were 
committed to the Tower, and on their way down the river 
the banks were crowded with sympathizing spectators. 
After a long trial they were acquitted, to the great mortifi- 
cation of the king and joy of the people. In September, 
1688, the heads of the Church party in England invited 
William of Orange, son-in-law of the king, to be their cham- 
pion in the cause of civil and religious liberty. He accepted 
these advances, and landed at Torbay, November 4th; he 
was joined by the nobility, clergy, and military, and even 
the Prince of Denmark and the Princess Anne. James 
made no resistance, he was allowed to escape to France, 
and the revolution was effected without a blow. 



William III. of Nassau. 1689—1702. Reigned jointly 
with Mary II., his wife. 

William, born 1650, was the son of the Prince of Orange, 
and Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I. 

Mary, born 1662, was the daughter of James II. and 
Anne Hyde. 

They both died at Kensington, Mary in 1694, and Wil- 
liam in 1702, and were buried in Westminster Abbey. 
They had no children. 



73 



Principal Events of this Reign. 

A short interregnum occurred after the flight of James, 
and on the 13th February, 1689, the Prince and Princess 
of Orange were proclaimed king and queen, under the title 
of William III. and Mary II. The Scots accepted the new 
sovereigns, but there was some opposition to them in Ireland. 
James took advantage of the feeling and landed in that 
country supported by a French army. Londonderry was 
besieged by the Jacobites, as James's followers were called, 
and was not relieved before the beleaguered inhabitants had 
suffered the last extremity of famine. William resolved to 
take the field in person, and landed at Carrickfergus. On 
the 12th of July, 1690, was fought the battle of the Boyne, 
which decided the fortunes of James, who fled to France. 
William's veteran general, Marshal Yon Schomberg, was 
killed. Before the king went to Ireland the Bill of Bights 
was passed, and it was also enacted that should the sove- 
reign become a Papist, or marry a Papist, the subject should 
be absolved from allegiance. In 1691, the campaign in 
Ireland was closed, and William had time to prosecute his 
military plans on the Continent. Marlborough was his 
general during this expedition, which was terminated by the 
peace of Ryswick, September 20th, 1697. James II. died in 
1701, and Louis XIV. immediately acknowledged his son, 
the Pretender, King of England. William indignantly 
prepared for war, but he did not live to see the preparations 
completed His death resulted from injuries received by 
a fall from his horse. His consort, Mary, never took an 
active part in the affairs of the government In 1700, when 
the only surviving son of Princess Anne died, an act of 
Parliament settled the succession on the descendants of the 
unfortunate Elizabeth, daughter of James I., ex-queen of 
Bohemia and Princess Palatine of the Rhine. 



74 

During this reign Whitehall was destroyed by fire; the 
Banqueting Hall alone was saved. Chiefly through the in- 
strumentality of Dr. Thomas Bray, the two great Societies 
of the Church of England were founded; the "Society for 
Promoting Christian Knowledge," and the "Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," familiarly 
known as the C. K. S. and S. P. G. societies. At this 
time flourished Dryden, the poet; Sir Isaac Newton, and 
Sir Robert Boyle, the great philosophers; Daniel De Foe, 
author of Robinson Crusoe; and Bishop Burnet, an histo- 
rian During this reign the Czar of Muscovy, Peter the 
Great, came to England to become practically acquainted 
with various manufactures. He was lodged for a time in 
the house of John Evelyn, author of the "Diary." 



Anne. 1702—1714. 

Born 1664. Daughter of James II. and Anne Hyde. 
She was married to George, Prince of Denmark, and had 
nine children, only one of whom, George, Duke of Glou- 
cester, lived beyond the age of infancy; he died aged eleven. 
Anne died at Kensington, and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey. Anne was a selfish and weak woman, and com- 
pletely under the influence of her confidantes. The Duchess 
of Marlborough, Sarah Jennings, was for a long time the 
favourite, and she and the queen corresponded under the 
assumed names of Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman; but she 
was afterwards supplanted by Abigail Hill, Lady Masham. 

Anne was called "the Good Queen Anne." 

Principal Events of her Reign. 

Anne's reign commenced with the war of the Spanish 
succession, in which England, Holland, and Germany, were 



75 

allied against France. Marlborough commanded the army, 
and his forces, combined with those of Prince Eugene, 
gained the "famous victory" of Blenheim. By this Marl- 
borough was raised to the highest honours; the queen gave 
him the royal palace of Woodstock, near Oxford, and the 
nation there built him a splendid mansion, called in compli- 
ment, Blenheim. In the same year, 1704, Sir George 
Rooke took the fortress of Gibraltar, which has ever since 
remained in the possession of the English. In 1707, the 
two kingdoms of England and Scotland were united into one 
nation under the name of Great Britain, and it was agreed 
that they should be represented by one and the same parlia- 
ment. Marlborough's successes on the Continent continued, 
and he won the victories of Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Mal- 
plaquet. Shortly afterwards he fell into disgrace through 
court intrigues, and was dismissed from his command. The 
peace of Utrecht was concluded in 1713; by it Newfound- 
land, Hudson's Bay, and the Island of St. Kitts were ceded 
to the English. On the 31st of July, 1714, Queen Anne 
died. 

The reign of Queen Anne is sometimes called the Augus- 
tan age of English Literature. Periodical literature was 
originated by Addison and Steele in the "Tatler" and the 
"Spectator." Dean Swift excelled in satirical writing; and 
Pope was first among the poets. John Locke was a philoso- 
phical writer; he drew up a constitution for the State of 
South Carolina. It was at this time that the terms Whig 
and Tory became party words; the Whigs favoured the 
house of Hanover, and the Tories were for absolute mon- 
archy, and friends to the Stuarts. In 1710, the people 
were greatly excited by the famous trial of Dr. Sacheverel. 
The Cathedral of St. Paul's was finished in this reign, it 
having occupied thirty-five years to re-build it. 



76 

SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF STUART. 

James I. 1603—1625. 

Charles I. 1625—1649. 

Commonwealth, 1649—1660. 

Charles II. 1660—1685. 

James II. 1685—1688. 

Interregnum of two months. 

William III. (and Mary II.) 1689—1702. 

Anne, 1702—1714. 



HOUSE OF HANOVER OR BRUNSWICK. 
George I. 1714-1727. 

Born 1660. Son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hano- 
ver, and Sophia, daughter of Frederick, Elector Palatine, 
and Elizabeth, daughter of James I. He married Sophia 
Dorothea of Zell, and had two children; 

George Augustus, who succeeded him; 

Dorothea Sophia, married Frederick William, King of 
Prussia. 

He died near Osnaburg in Hanover, and was buried in 
the Schlosskirche, Hanover. George I. was possessed of 
some good qualities, he was sagacious, industrious and sin- 
cere; but his ignorance of the English language and habits, 
and his unreasonable fondness for his native country, pre- 
vented him from gaining the affections of his new subjects. 
They regarded him with suspicion as a foreigner, whose 
interest in Hanover was stronger than that in Great Britain. 
In his domestic relations George I. was very unfortunate. 
He was separated from his wife, who was imprisoned for 
thirty-two years; and he lived at constant and bitter vari- 
ance with his son and successor. 



77 



Principal Events of his Reign. 

Party spirit at this time ran very high; the King showed 
a decided preference for the Whigs, and removed many of 
the leading Tories from office. Lord Bolingbroke, the Duke 
of Ormond, and the Earl of Oxford, were impeached of high 
treason; the two former escaped to the continent, but the lat- 
ter was committed to the Tower. These impeachments led 
to some serious disturbances, which gave occasion to the 
passage of the Riot Act. The Pretender, son of James II. , 
known by the title of the Chevalier de St. George, asserted 
his claim to the throne, but his cause was materially injured 
by the death of Louis XIV., who had promised him aid. 
Sept. 6th, 1715, the Earl of Mar raised the standard of the 
Pretender in the Highlands. Nov. 12th, the Jacobites, in 
the north of England, were defeated and taken prisoners at 
Preston. The Pretender landed in Scotland on the 22d of 
December, and the 23d of January was fixed for his corona- 
tion, but before that day, the Duke of Argyle, who com- 
manded the forces of the King, had driven him from the 
country, and he was glad once more to seek refuge in France. 
The King was inexorable in his punishment of the rebels, 
and many of them were executed. In 1716, the Septennial 
Act was passed, by which the duration of Parliament was 
limited to seven years. 1718, Admiral Byng defeated the 
Spanish fleet in the Mediterranean. The quadruple alliance 
was formed by England, France, Holland, and Germany, 
and, in 1720, the King of Spain was obliged to an- 
nounce his accession to it. In the same year misery and 
ruin were spread over the country by the bursting of the 
South Sea Bubble. It was borrowed from Law's Mississippi 
Scheme in Paris, and was chiefly contrived by Sir John 
Blunt. The King died during a visit to Hanover. 

8 



78 

During this reign the order of Knights of the Bath was 
revived. The eccentric Lady Mary Wortley Montague in- 
troduced inoculation into England; it was first practised 
upon some criminals in 1721. Sir Robert Walpole rose to 
political power during this reign, and was Prime Minister at 
the time of the king's death. 



George II. 1727—1760. 

Born 1683. Son of George I, and Sophia Dorothea of 
Zell. He was married to Princess Caroline Whilemina of 
Anspach, and had two sons and five daughters. His sons 
were: 

Frederick, Prince of Wales, who married Augusta, Prin- 
cess of Saxe-Gotha, and had a large family of chil- 
dren. His eldest son was George, afterwards George 
III. He died in 1751. 

George William, Duke of Cumberland. 

He died at Kensington and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey. He did not possess any brilliant qualities as a ruler; 
he was just and sincere, and like all the Hanoverian kings 
possessed personal courage in an eminent degree, but he was 
hasty in temper, without intellect or refinement, and avari- 
cious. Like his father, he preferred Hanover to England, 
and was at enmity with his eldest son. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

Sir Bobert Walpole was continued in office as Prime Min- 
ister, and soon wielded an immense power in Parliament. 
Queen Caroline supported the policy of Walpole, and by her 
extraordinary influence and tact, so controlled affairs that 
she was, in effect, the sovereign of the kingdom. In 1737, 
the Prince of Wales, who was very popular, came to an open 



79 

rupture with his father, and he was banished from court; this 
dissension in the royal family was soon followed by the death 
of the Queen, a wise and amiable woman, who was much 
regretted. The commercial interests of England had been 
much injured by the interference of the Spanish government, 
and, as the latter refused redress, war was declared in 1739 
Admiral Yernon took Porto Bello, and gained some other 
advantages in the Spanish settlements in America. A con- 
tinental war was raging to support the terms of the Prag- 
matic Sanction, which guaranteed the imperial succession to 
Maria Theresa of Austria. The English espoused the cause 
of the Empress. The king led the army in person, and. 
aided by his son, the Duke of Cumberland, gained the battle 
of Dettingen, June 27th, 1743. In 1745 the allies lost the 
battle of Fontenoy. In 1744, Charles Edward, son of the 
first Pretender, attempted an invasion of England, but was 
unsuccessful. His ill fortune did not deter him from mak- 
ing another effort in Scotland the following year; he landed 
on the coast of Inverness, and raised his standard at Glen- 
finnan. He gained an inconsiderable victory at Preston Pans, 
and afterwards pushed his arms into England as far as Derby; 
but he was compelled to retreat, and was finally defeated at 
Culloden by the Duke of Cumberland, April 16th, 1746 
This was the last atteuipt made by the Stuarts to recover the 
crown of Great Britain. Charles Edward, or the Cheva- 
lier, as he was called, wandered in the Highlands for some 
months, but at last he was able to make his escape to France. 
He subsequently resided in Italy under the title of the 
Count of Albany His followers suffered terribly from the 
severity of the Duke of Cumberland. Lords Kilmarnock, 
Balmerino, and Lovat, were beheaded on Tower Hill In 
1748, the Continental war was terminated by the peace of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1751, Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
died, and his eldest son, George, was created Prince of 
Wales. In 1755, a war broke out between the English and 



80 

French colonies in America, which led to the Seven Years' 
War. In 1755, General Braddock was defeated near Fort 
Duquesne, now Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania. His aid-de- 
camp was George Washington, a native of Virginia, who 
was afterwards to play such a prominent part in the separa- 
tion from the mother country. In March, 1757, Admiral 
Byng was shot for having failed to act with decision in the 
Mediterranean. At this time Lord Clive gained great suc- 
cesses for the English arms in India. In 1758, the cele- 
brated Mr. Pitt, Lord Chatham, was placed at the head of 
the British ministry, and he sketched out the plan of the 
American campaign. The English were everywhere victori- 
ous, but their crowning glory was the capture of Quebec, by 
General Wolfe; after this the Canadas surrendered to them. 
In the midst of triumphs by sea and by land, in Europe, 
America, and India, George II. died. 

In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was adopted in England, 
and eleven days were taken out of the month of September 
This change gave rise to the distinctions of "Old Style," 
and "New Style" 

During this reign flourished Gay, author of the "Beggars' 
Opera;" Dr. Arbuthnot, a celebrated Scotch Physician: 
James Thomson, author of "The Seasons;" Dr. Watts; 
Bishop Butler, who wrote the "Analogy;" Bishop Berkeley, 
who conferred great benefits on the English colonies in 
America; and Thomas Gray, author of "The Bard," and 
"Elegy written in a Country Churchyard." Wolfe repeated 
the latter poem to the officers by his side as he was floating 
down the St. Lawrence, the night before the capture of 
Quebec, and added, "I would rather be the author of that 
poem, than have all the glory I feel sure of to-morrow." 
During this reign Anson sailed ronnd the world; and the 
disastrous massacre of the Black Hole of Calcutta took 
place. 



81 



George III. 1760—1820. 

Born 1738. Son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and 
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. He was married to Charlotte 
Sophia, Princess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, and had a large 
family of children. Those best known are : 

George, afterwards Prince Regent, who succeeded him; 
William Henry, Duke of Clarence, who became King 

William IV.; 
Edward, Duke of Kent, who married Victoria, Princess- 
Dowager of Leiningen, and sister of Prince Leopold of 
Saxe-Coburg, and was the father of Alexandrina Vic- 
toria, the present Queen; 
Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who became 

King of Hanover on the death of William IV.; 
Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge. 
He died at Windsor, and was buried in St. George's 
Chapel. George was obstinate, narrow minded, and igno- 
rant; but his faults were redeemed in his private character 
by his domestic virtues, his honesty, his simple tastes, and 
sincere piety. One advantage George III. had over his 
predecessors, he was a true Englishman, and in his first 
speech declared that he gloried in the name of Briton. 
George at different periods of his life suffered from a mental 
malady, which at last became incurable. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

The Earl of Bute, who was high in favour with the new 
king, supplanted Pitt in the ministry. The Peace of Paris 
was concluded in February, 1763, and thus ended the Seven 
Years' War. By this treaty several valuable colonies in 
America were secured to Great Britain. About this time 
John Wilkes became very notorious on account of an arti- 
cle, No. 45, which he had contributed to the "North 
8* 



82 

Briton." This paper created a violent excitement in the 
political world, which lasted several years. In 1765, Par- 
liament passed the Stamp Act, which was very obnoxious 
to the American colonies, and was the first link in the chain 
of events which led to the Revolution. Patrick Henry 
opposed it with a burst of eloquence in the Virginia House 
of Burgesses. The Act was afterwards repealed, but even 
this concession failed to appease the colonists, who had other 
grievances to complain of. Frequent changes in the min- 
istry weakened the power of the home government; thirteen 
colonies banded themselves together and elected a Congress, 
and on the 4th of July, 1776, the famous Declaration of 
Independence was signed. The Americans were assisted in 
their struggle by the French. George Washington was 
Commander-in-Chief of the American armies, and La Fay- 
ette of the French. The war was terminated by the sur- 
render of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, October 19th, 
1781. Gibraltar, which had been besieged for three years, 
was relieved in 1782. During the preparations made to 
equip a fleet for this service, the Royal George was lost in 
Portsmouth harbour, and nine hundred persons perished. 
January 20th, 1783, a treaty of peace was signed at Ver- 
sailles, and the independence of the American colonies was 
recognized. Mr. Pitt, son of Lord Chatham, was made 
Prime Minister. Th^ king suffered from temporary attacks 
of derangement; in April, 1789, he went in state to St. 
Paul's to give thanks for his recovery from one of these 
afflictions. 

In the same year, 1789, the Revolution broke out in 
France, and the wildest anarchy reigned in that country. 
After the execution of Louis XVI., January, 1793, France 
declared war against England and Holland. The Duke of 
York commanded the English navy; some victories were 
gained, and several French islands in the West Indies were 
cuptured. At this time Napoleon Bonaparte commenced his 



83 

extraordinary and brilliant career. The allies one by one 
deserted England, until, after the peace of Campo Formio, 
she was left alone to struggle with the giant foe. Napoleon 
went to Egypt, where he was followed by the English fleet 
under Lord Nelson. August 1st, 1798, was fought the 
Battle of the Nile, in which the whole French fleet, except 
four ships, was destroyed or captured. January 1st, 1801, 
the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was proclaimed. 
Napoleon continued his successes on the Continent; and in 
1802 was elected Consul for life; and in 1804, May 15th, 
he was created Emperor. October 21st, 1805, was fought 
the naval battle of Trafalgar, in which the English were 
successful, but Lord Nelson was killed. In 1806, Napoleon 
issued his decrees from Berlin, which prohibited all inter- 
course with England; the bombardment of Copenhagen fol- 
lowed, and the sufferings it caused are amongst the most 
painful incidents of the war. Spain was occupied by the 
French, and her king displaced by Joseph Bonaparte, 
brother of the Emperor. In this distress the Spaniards 
applied to Great Britain for aid, and the memorable Penin- 
sular War was the consequence. The British troops were 
commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards the illus- 
trious Duke of Wellington. January, 1809, Sir John 
Moore fell at Corunna, and was buried on "the field of his 
fame and his glory." In 1810, the king had a return of 
his former malady, from which he never again entirely 
recovered; he also became blind. Under these circum- 
stances it was necessary for some head to be appointed for 
the government, and the Prince of Wales was made Regent. 
In 1812, Mr. Perceval, then Prime Minister, was shot in the 
lobby of the House of Commons. Wellington gained splen- 
did victories in Spain, and finally drove the French from the 
Peninsula. In 1812, Napoleon retreated from Moscow, 
and his reverses roused the allies to new efforts to humble 
this mighty conqueror. March 30th, 1814, they gained a 



84 

victory near Paris, and the next day they entered the 
French capital. On the 11th of April Napoleon signed 
his abdication at Fontainebleau, and then retired to the 
island of Elba. While these events were passing on the 
Continent the government had to turn its serious atten- 
tion to the war with the United States, which had com- 
menced in 1812, and had assumed a very important and 
threatening aspect. The naval battles were fought prin- 
cipally on the Great Lakes, and the Americans were com- 
pletely victorious. January 8th, 1815, General Jackson 
gained the battle of New Orleans, and the war was termi- 
nated by a treaty of peace which was signed at Ghent, in 
December, 1814. 

In 1815, while a Congress at Vienna was deliberating on 
the affairs of Europe, Napoleon suddenly appeared again 
in France. The allied forces immediately prepared to resist 
him, and the decisive battle was fought at Waterloo, June 
18th, 1815. Wellington was the hero of the battle, but 
some honour belongs to Bliicher, who commanded the Prus- 
sian forces Napoleon's cause was completely lost; the 
allies entered Paris in triumph, and the fallen chief was 
caged in the island of St. Helena. 1816, the Princess 
Charlotte was married to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. 
1819, the Princess Victoria was born, and the following 
year her father, the Duke of Kent, died. The king sur- 
vived him but a few days, and thus ended the longest and 
most eventful reign in English history. 

In this reign electricity was discovered; gas used for 
lighting the streets; the safety lamp invented; vaccination 
practised; telescopes improved; and steam applied to navi- 
gation and printing. It would be difficult to name all the 
great men and literary characters of this period, some of the 
principal were: Young, Goldsmith, Burns, and Cowper, 
poets; Lord Chesterfield, author of the Letters; Dr. Samuel 



85 

Johnson, the great philosopher and lexicographer; Hogarth 
and Sir Joshua Reynolds, painters; Edmund Burke, a great 
orator; and John Howard, the philanthropist. 



George IV. 1820—1830. 

Born 1762. Son of George III., and Charlotte Sophia, 
princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz. He was married to 
Princess Caroline of Brunswick, and had one daughter : 

Charlotte, who married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, 
and died November, 1817. She was buried in St. 
George's Chapel, Windsor. 

George died at Windsor, and was buried in St. George's 
Chapel. 

"The first gentleman in Europe" was a character whom 
we can neither admire nor respect. He wasted his talents, 
and trifled away his advantages; and in old age became very 
morose and unhappy. 

The Princess Charlotte was greatly beloved by the peo- 
ple, and her death was very much regretted. Her resi- 
dence, Claremont, continued in the possession of the widowed 
Leopold, the late King of the Belgians. He married a 
second time, and when his father-in-law, Louis Philippe of 
France, was expelled from his dominions, he offered Clare- 
mont as a residence to the exiled royal family. 

Principal Events of his Reign 

A plot was formed to murder the cabinet ministers, but it 
was discovered and the perpetrators executed. Queen Car- 
oline was tried and acquitted. Having been refused admit- 
tance to Westminster Abbey, on the coronation of her husband, 
she died soon afterwards of mortification and a broken heart. 
Greece made vigorous efforts to throw off the Turkish yoke, 



86 

and this was finally accomplished at the battle of Navarino, 
Oct. 20th, 1827, in which it was aided by the combined 
fleets of England, France, and Russia. In 1829, the Roman 
Catholic Emancipation Act was passed. In 1830, the king 
died after a lingering illness. 



William IV. 1830—1837. 

Born 1765. Son of George III and Charlotte Sophia, 
princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz. He was married to Ade- 
laide, princess of Saxe-Meinengen, and had two children 
who died in infancy. He died at Windsor, and was buried 
in St George's Chapel. 

Principal Events of his Reign. 

In 1832 the Reform Bill passed. Its opposition in the 
House of Lords was received with great indignation by the 
people, and disgraceful mobs followed. In 1834, the Eman- 
cipation Bill was passed, and in the same year the Houses 
of Parliament were destroyed by fire. The ' 'sailor-king" died 
June 20th, 1837. 

In 1830 the first railway was opened between Liverpool 
and Manchester. 



Victoria Alexandrina. 1837— 

Born 1819. Daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, and 
the Princess Maria Louise Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. In 
1840 she was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, 
who died December 14th, 1861. He had received the title 
of Prince Consort. She has nine children: 



87 

1. Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa, Princess Royal, mar- 

ried to Frederick William, crown-prince of Prussia; 

2. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the 

throne, married to Princess Alexandrine of Denmark; 

3. Alice Maud Mary, married to Louis, Prince of Hesse 

Darmstadt; 

4. Alfred Ernest Albert, of the Royal Navy, created 

Duke of Edinburgh; 

5. Helena Augusta Victoria, married to Prince Christian 

of Augustenburg; 

6. Louise Caroline Alberta; 

7. Arthur William Patrick Albert; 

8. Leopold George Duncan Albert; 

9. Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore. 

On the death of William IV., his brother, the Duke of 
Cumberland, succeeded to the throne of Hanover, as that 
kingdom is controlled by the Salic law. In 1838, the first 
steamship sailed from England to America. In 1851, a great 
International Exhibition was held in London, the idea of 
which originated with Prince Albert. 1852, died the 
Duke of Wellington, he was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. 
In 1854, commenced the famous Crimean war, which ter- 
minated with the fall of Sebastapol in September, 1855. 
A treaty of peace was signed in Paris, March 30th, 1856. 
In 1857, a formidable insurrection broke out in India. After 
its suppression the government of the country passed from 
the control of the East India Company into the dominion of 
the crown. In 1860, the Prince of Wales visited America, 
and was everywhere received with great cordiality and en- 
thusiasm. In March, 1861, died the Duchess of Kent, and 
in December of the same year, the Queen, the Royal Family, 
and the whole nation, suffered an irreparable loss in the death 
of Prince Albert. March 7th, 1863, the Prince of Wales 
was married to the Princess Alexandrine of Denmark; the 
ceremony took place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 



88 

The improvements, discoveries, and great men of the last 
fifty years, are so familiar, and so easily gathered from other 
sources, that it is not necessary that they should be here 
enumerated. 



SOVEREIGNS OF THE HOUSE OF HANOVER OR 
BRUNSWICK. 

George I. 1714—1727. 

George II. 1727—1760. 

George III. 1760—1820. 

George IV. 1820—1830. 

William IV. 1830-1837. 

Victoria, 1837 — Long may she reign ! 



QUESTIONS 

ON 

ENGLISH HISTORY. 



1. Which is the legendary period of British History? 

2. What was the ancient name of England ? 

3. What is the tradition as to the origin of the Britons ? 

4. Who were the Phoenicians ? 

5. Why were they early acquainted with Britain? 

6. Who was King Lear ? 

7. Give the date of the first Roman invasion of Britain, 

8. Who led the Roman army, and what do you know of 

him ? 

9. Who was leader of the Britons? 

10. What invasion took place 54 B. C? 

11. How far did Caesar penetrate ? 

12. What was the ancient name of St. Albans? 

13. For how many years were the Britons unmolested ? 

14. Who were the Druids ? 

15. Where is Stonehenge ? 

16. What island was devoted to the residence of the Druids ? 

17. What was a terrible feature of Druidical worship ? 

18. Who was Cymbeline, and by whom has he been immor- 

talized ? 
19 What can you say about the mock-invasion of Caligula? 

20. When did Claudius invade Britain ? 

21. Who was the Roman General that led the invasion of 

Claudius ? 

22. Who was Caractacus ? 

9 



90 

23. What was the ancient name of Colchester ? 

J4. Who conquered the Isle of Wight? 

25. Who was Titus? 

26. When and where was Caractacus defeated, and what 

was the result ? 

27. Who took command in Britain A. D. 59? 

28. Who destroyed the Druids? 

29. What happened in A.. D. 61 ? 

30. Who has called Boadicea, "the British warrior queen?" 

31. What was the Roman name of London ? 

32. When was Agricola appointed to the command of 

Britain ? 

33. What did Agricola raise ? 

34. What did Hadrian build ? 

35. Why is Hadrian's rampart call the wall of Severus ? 

36. Where did Severus die ? 

37. Who was the first Christian martyr of Great Britain ? 

38. Where did he suffer, and at what date? 
39 When and where did Constantius die ? 

40. Where was Constantine the Great first proclaimed Em- 

peror ? 

41. When did the Scots and Picts penetrate to London ? 

42. Relate about the letter sent to iEtius. 

43. What did Vortigern do in 448 ? 

44. What is the date of the Saxon Invasion ? 

45. Who were Hengist and Horsa? 

46. How may the interval between the Saxon Invasion and 

the Norman Conquest be divided ? 
47 What is the 1st period? 

48. Whom did Vortigern marry ? 

49. When was Horsa slain ? 

50. What occurred in 457 ? 

51. What followed from the successes of Hengist ? 

52. Who was Arthur and when did he die ? 

53. Is his history altogether fabulous? 



91 

54 Who was St. Augustine? 

55. Had Britain ever been Christianized before St. Augus- 

tine was sent there ? 

56. Why had it, as a state, relapsed into heathendom ? 

57. Who was Bertha? 

58. Whom did St. Augustine convert to Christianity? 

59. What can you say about St. Martin's Church, Canter 

bury ? 

60. When was St. Paul's Cathedral founded? 

61. When, and by whom, was Westminster Abbey founded ? 
62 What was founded A. D. 644 ? 

63. What do you know of the Venerable Bede ? 

64. What important event occurred in A. D. 827 ? 

65. What was the Saxon capital of England ? 

66. Where had the Britons been driven to ? 

67. What is the 2d Period between the Saxon Invasion 

and the Norman Conquest ? 

68. Who was Egbert, and where was he buried ? 

69. Whom did Ethelwolf marry? 

70. What occurred during the reign of Ethelwolf? 

71. What three kings succeeded ? 

72. Who was Alfred the Great and give dates of his reign. 

73. Who are the best known of Alfred's children ? 

74. Who gave Alfred much trouble? 

75. What occurred in 878 ? 

76. What benefits resulted from Alfred's reign ? 

77. Who succeeded Alfred ? 

78. Who was Athelstan ? 

79. Name some of the principal events of his reign. 

80. Who were Edmund I. and Edred? 

81. How did Edmund die? 

82. Who was St. Dunstan ? 

83. Whom did Edwy marry, and what followed? 

84. What can you say of Edgar the Peaceable ? 

85. How did Edward the Martyr die? 



92 

86. What was the the surname of Ethelred II., and why? 

87. Who was Edmund Ironside? 

88. Who was Emma, the wife of Ethelred? 
S9. Name the sons of Ethelred and Emma. 
90 What was the subsequent fate of Alfred ? 

91. What was Danegelt? 

92. When did the massacre of the Danes take place ? 

93. Who revenged this massacre ? 

94. What became of Ethelred ? 

95 What is the 3d Period between the Saxon Invasion 
and the Norman Conquest ? 

96. What can you say of Sweyn ? 

97. What became of Edmund Ironside ? 

98. Name the sons of Edmund Ironside. 

99. Who was descended from Edward the Exile ? 

100. Whom did Canute marry? 

101. Who was Hardicanute ? 

102. Where did Canute die and where was he buried? 

103. Relate an incident in the reign of Canute. 

104. What was the surname of Harold, son of Canute? 

105. What was the fate of Hardicanute ? 

106. What is the 4th Period between the Saxon Invasion 

and the Norman Conquest ? 

107. Who succeeded Hardicanute, and what are the dates 

of his reign ? 

108. Whom did Edward the Coufessor marry? 

109. Where had he been educated and what was the result ? 

110. Who was Earl Godwin? 

111. To whom did Edward the Confessor leave the crown 

of England ? 

112. Who was the true heir ? 

113. Where was Edward the Confessor buried? 

114. Relate the story of Macbeth. 

115. Who was Harold II. and by whom was he crowned ? 

116. Who disputed his claims to the throne ? 

117. Where was the fate of England decided? 



93 

118. Where was Harold buried? 

119. What was built on the site of the battle-field? 

120. Give the date of William the Conqueror's accession 

121. Whose son was he ? 

122. What was his father's surname ? 

123. To whom was William the Conqueror married ? 

124. Mention the children of William and Matilda who are 

best known in history ? 

125. What was the fate of Richard, second son of the Con- 

queror ? 

126. How did William the Conqueror divide his possessions 

amongst his sons ? 

127. To whom was Adela married, and who was descended 

from her ? 

128. What caused William's death ? 

129. Where did he die and where was he buried? 

130. Where was William the Conqueror crowned? 

131. Upon what conditions did Edgar Atheling resign all 

claim to the crown ? 

132. What rebellions occurred during this reign ? 

133. With whom was William at war at the time of his 

death ? 

134. What was the object of the Curfew bell ? 

135. Where was the New Forest and why was it made ? 

136. What was the Feudal law? 

137. Where did Matilda, wife of the Conqueror, die, and 

where was she buried ? 

138. What is the Bayeux tapestry, and where is it pre- 

served ? 

139. Who succeeded William the Conqueror, and what are 

the dates of his reign ? 

140. Where did William Rufus die, and where is he buried? 

141. Give the date of the 1st Crusade. 

142. What were the Crusades? 

143. How was Robert enabled to go to the Holy Land? 

9* 



94 

144. When was the Tower built? 

1 45. What do you know of Westminster Hall ? 

146. What is Goodwin Sands ? 

147. How was the crime of having depopulated such a vast 

tract of land as the New Forest visited upon the 
descendants of the Conqueror ? 

148. Who succeeded William Rufus? 

149. What was his surname and why was it given % 

150. Who was the proper heir to the throne ? 

151. Whom did Henry I. marry? 

152. Why did he marry Matilda of Scotland 1 

153. Who were the children of Henry and Matilda 1 

154. What was the fate of Prince William ? 

155. Whom did Matilda marry 1 

156. What is she called in history ] 

157. Where did Henry die 1 

158. Where was he buried ? 

159. With whom did Henry I. war ? 

160. What was the fate of Robert 1 

161. What effect did the death of Prince William have 

upon the king ? 

162. What Order was established during this reign ? 

163. Why did Stephen of Blois claim the throne upon the 

death of Henry I. ? 

164. Who was the queen of Stephen 1 

165. What was the character of Matilda of Boulogne 1 

166. Who was Prince Eustace ? 

167. Where did Stephen die 1 

168. Where were Stephen and his queen buried 1 

169. What was the state of the kingdom during this reign 1 

170. Who was the most powerful supporter of Matilda's 

cause ? 

171. Who fought the battle of Northallerton ? 

172. What was the result % 

173. What compromise was made by Stephen and Matilda ? 

174. Give the date of the 2d Crusade. 



95 

175. Who was William of Malmesbury ] 

176. How many kings were there of the Norman Line ? 

177. Give their names and the dates of their reigns. 

178. What House succeeded the Norman kings? 

179. Whence came the title ? 

180. Whose son was Henry TI. ? 

181. What was restored in the person of Henry II. 1 

182. Whom did he marry ? 

183. To whom had Eleanor been previously married ? 

184. Name the children of Henry II. and Eleanor. 

185. To whom was Prince Henry married ? 

186. Relate the circumstance of his death. 

187. What was the surname of Richard 1 

188. Who was Constance of Bretagne ? 

189. To whom was Joan married ? 

190. What caused Henry's death, and where did he die ? 

191. Where was Henry II. buried? 

192. Who was Thomas a Becket? 

193. Relate an anecdote to prove the intimacy which ex- 

isted between Becket and the king. 

194. Why was Becket created Archbishop of Canterbury ? 

195. What was the effect of his elevation to the Arch- 

bishopric ? 

196. What led to the murder of Becket ? 

197. Relate the circumstances connected with the murder. 

198. How was Becket's memory honored ? 

199. How did Henry publicly show his regret for the mur- 

der ? 

200. When was Ireland conquered ? 

201 . What circumstances led to the Conquest ? 

202. How did Eleanor use her influence over her sons ? 

203. What was the fate of Geoffrey ? 

204. Who joined Richard in his last rebellion against his 

father ? 

205. Why was that "the most unkindest cut of all ?" 



206. How did it affect the king 1 

207. How was the kingdom divided for judicial purposes ? 

208. What great improvement in houses was introduced 

during this reign 1 

209. Who was Nicholas Breakspear 1 

210. Who succeeded Henry II. ? 

211. How many years did he reign? 

212. To whom was Richard married? 

213. What was the cause of Richard's death ? 

214. How has Richard been regarded in romance? 

215. What does Sir Walter Scott say of him? 

216. What was his true character ? 

217. Did he show much affection for his kingdom and sub- 

jects 1 

218. Relate the incidents connected with Richard's setting 

out on the Crusade. 

219. What island did Richard capture ? 

220. Who were victorious in the battle of Joppa ? 

221. What truce was made between Richard and Saladin? 

222. Relate the adventures connected with the capture of 

the king on his return from the Holy Land. 

223. What story is connected with his release ? 

224. How was Richard wounded at Chalus ? 

225. Where is he buried ? 

226. Who was Robin Hood ? 

227. Who succeeded Richard I.? 

228. What was his surname, and why did he receive it? 

229. Whom did he marry ? 

230. Name the children of John. 

231. What was the fate of Arthur of Bretagne ? 

232. Why did the king dispute with Innocent III.? 

233. What did the barons compel John to sign ? 

234. When and where was Magna Charta signed ? 

235. What was John's conduct after he had signed the 

charter ? 



97 

236. Whom did the barons call to their aid? 

237. Where did John die, and where was he buried ? 

238. Where is Magna Chaita still preserved? 

239. Where was Arthur murdered ? 

240. What became of the Damsel of Bretagne ? 

241. Give the dates of the reign of Henry III. 

242. Whom did he marry? 

243. Mention Henry's children. 

244. Whom did Margaret marry ? 

245. Why wa3 Eleanor of Provence a very unpopular 

queen ? 

246. Who was protector of the realm ? 

247. W r hat was the character of the Earl of Pembroke ? 

248. Where was the French army defeated ? 

249 What great loss did the king and country sustain in 
1219 ? 

250. What title did the Pope bestow on Edmund, son of 

the King ? 

251. To what did this empty honour lead? 

252. Who headed the barons ? 

253. What was the "Mad Parliament?" 

254. Where did it assemble ? 

255. Who tried to act as mediator between Henry and the 

barons ? 

256. When was the battle of Lewes fought? 

257. What was the result ? 

258. How did Prince Edward effect his escape ? 

259. What battle was fought in 1265 ? 

260. Which party was victorious, and who were slain ? 

261. When did Prince Edward set out on a crusade ? 
262 Who accompanied him ? 

263. How long did Henry III. reign ? 

264. Where did he die, and where is he buried ? 

265. Who was Roger Bacon ? 

266. What was the surname of Edward I.? 



98 

267. Was it well applied? 

268. Whom did lie marry ? 

269. What was the surname oT Eleanor of Castile? 

270. Relate the legend of her devotion in the Holy Land. 

271. Where did queen Eleanor die ? 

272. What respect did Edward pay to her remains ? 

273. What monuments were erected to her memory ? 

274. What is the origin of the name Charing Cross ] 

275. What is being built to replace the old monument at 

Charing Cross ? 

276. Where did Edward die ? 

277. What singular directions did he give concerning his 

body 1 

278. Where was he buried ? 

279. What inscription is there upon his tomb 1 

280. Where was Edward at the time of his father's death 1 

281. What war did he undertake a few years after his acces- 

sion 1 

282. When and where was Llewellyn killed ? 

283. Where was his head placed after his death ? 

284. When was Wales finally conquered ? 

285. What was the fate of David, brother of Llewellyn % 

286. What is the reason that the eldest sons of the English 

sovereigns are styled Prince of Wales 1 

287. When were the Jews banished from England I 

288. How long were they excluded from the kingdom 1 

289. What was the origin of the war with Scotland ? 

290. Who was the Maid of Norway ? 

291. How many competitors were there for the crown of 

Scotland ? 

292. Name the two most important. 

293. In whose favour did Edward decide ? 

294. When did the battle of Falkirk take place, and who 

were victorious ? 

295. What was the character of Sir William Wallace ? 



99 

296. By whom was he betrayed to the English ? 

297. Where was he tried, and where executed ? 

298. What disposition was made of the remains of Wallace ? 

299. Who was Robert Bruce ? 

300. Where and by whom was the Red Comyn slain 1 

301. To what did this murder lead % 

302. Where was Bruce crowned king of Scotland 1 

303. Who placed the crown upon his head ? 

304. How was King Edward stopped in his revengeful pur- 

poses ? 

305. What attempt had Edward made in France ? 

306. What name is given to Edward I. and why 1 

307. What is the subject of Gray's Bard ? 

308. Relate the history of "the Stone of Destiny." 

309. Why was Edward II. surnamed "Caernarvon ?" 

310. Whose son was he ? 

311. What are the dates of his reign ? 

312. To whom was he married ? 

313. Where was he murdered ? 

314. What were "re-echoed by the Severn" on that dread- 

ful night ? 

315. Where was Edward II. buried ? 

316. What does Gray, the poet, call Isabella ? 

317. Where was she imprisoned ? 

318 Did Edward keep the promises made to his father ? 

319. What was the consequence of the favouritism shown to 

Gaveston ? 

320. Where was Gaveston executed ? 

321. When was the battle of Bannockburn fought ? 

322. Who were victorious? 

323. Who succeeded Gaveston in the favour of the King ? 

324. What ensued? 

325. What part did the Queen take in these contentions ? 

326. Who was Roger Mortimer ? 
327 What occurred in 1326 ? 



100 

328. What was the fate of Edward ? 

329. What order was suppressed during this reign % 

330. What disposition was made of their property in London? 

331. What can you say of Temple Church 1 

332. What is the surname of Edward III.? 

333. How many years did he reign ? 

334. To whom was he married? 

335. Name the sons of Edward III. 

336. To whom was the Black Prince married ? 

337. Where did he die and where is he buried ? 

338. Name the descendants of Lionel, Duke of Clarence. 

339. What is John of Gaunt called ? 

340. To whom was he married? 

341. Where did Edward III. die ? 

342. Where are Edward and Philippa buried 1 

343. How did the king assert his power, when of an age to 

go\ rn ? 

344. Upon what pretext did Edward make war with France ? 

345. What is the Salique law ? 

346. What great naval battle was fought, and with what 

result ? 

347. How did Edward employ the next two years ? 

348. Why was the French war renewed ? 
349 When was the battle of Crecy fought ? 

350. Who was killed at Crecy, and under what circum- 

stances ? 

351. Who distinguished himself greatly in this battle 1 
S52. How long did the siege of Calais last ? 

353. How was it terminated ? 

354. What battle was won by Philippa ? 

355. When was the battle of Poitiers fought ? 

356. What two kings were prisoners in London at the same 

time ? 

357. Where did King John of France die ? 

358. What war did the Black Prince undertake in 1367 ? 



101 

359. Was it advantageous to England ? 

360. "Why was Edward's son called "the Black Prince'?" 

361. Repeat Gray's lines which refer to Edward Ill's lonely 

death-bed. 

362. What was the condition of England at this period ? 

363. What new branch of trade was opened % 

364. What did the Queen establish at Norwich ? 

365 . Who who was Froissart ? 

366. Who was Geoffrey Chaucer ? 

367. What is he styled by Spenser? 

368. Who was Jacob Van Artevelt? 

369. Under whose direction was the palace of Windsor 
' built ? 

370. What inscription is placed over the great gate? 

371. What was the subsequent career of Wykeham ? 

372. What was Wykeham's motto ? 

373. What school did he found? 

374. Who was John Wycliffe ? 

375. By whom was he protected ? 

376. What were his followers called? 

377. What order was instituted in 1344 ? 

378. Give the popular story of its origin. 

379. Give some description of this order. 

380. What is the crest of the Princes of Wales ? 
381 By what right do they bear it ? 

382. What new weapon was introduced at the battle of 

Crecy ? 

383. By whom was oil-painting invented? 

384. What institutions were founded by queen Philippa ? 

385. Where was Richard II. born ? 

386. What relationship did he bear to Edward III.? 

387. Whose son was he ? 

388. To whom was Richard II. married? 

389. Where Was he murdered ? 

390. Where was he buried ? % 

10 



102 

391. What occurred in 1381? 

392. What was Richard's conduct on that occasion ? 

393. Where was Wat Tyler killed ? 

394. What does the ballad of Chevy Chase commemorate ? 

395. Why was the battle of Otterbourne fought ? 

396. Who was the Duke of Gloucester ? 

397. Of what was he accused % 

398. Where was he to be tried, and what occurred before 

the trial 2 

399. What quarrel was brought before the King in 1398, 

and what was his decision 1 

400. When did John of Gaunt die I 

401. Upon what pretext did Henry Bolingbroke return to 

England ? 

402. Where was Richard at the time ? 

403. How did Henry improve his advantages? 

404. Where was Richard taken prisoner ? 
'405. What was his subsequent fate ] 

406. What became of the youthful queen of Richard after 

the murder of her husband ? 

407. Give the dates of the reign of Henry IV. 

408. Whose son was he 1 

409. Who was his first wife 1 

410. Name their sons. 

411. Who was Henry's second wife ? 

412. Where did Henry IV. die ? 

413. Where was he buried? 

414. Where was Henry IV. proclaimed king ? 

415. What challenge did he utter on the occasion ? 

416. Who was the rightful heir to the crown 1 

417. Was the early part of this reign peaceful ] 

418. What disturbances occurred 1 

419. When was the battle of Homildon Hill fought ? 

420. What was the result ? 

421. Who entered into an alliance against Henry ? 



103 

422. When was the battle of Shrewsbury fought ? 

423. Who distinguished himself in this battle ? 

424. What of Northumberland ? 

425. What was the fate of Archbishop Scroop? 

426. How were Henry's last days embittered ] 

427. Give an anecdote of the Prince of Wales and Judge 

Gascoigne. 

428. What royal prisoner was in England at this time ? 

429. How did he fall into Henry's hands ? 

430. How long did he remain prisoner ? 

431. Where was Henry seized with apoplexy 1 

432 . What prediction had been made concerning the place 

of his death ? 

433. Describe the scene which took place between the King 

and the Prince of Wales shortly before the death of 
the former. 

434. Mention the most celebrated of the Prince's jolly com- 

panions ? 

435. Where are his mad pranks and follies portrayed ? 

436. Who was the mother of Henry V.? 

437. What are the dates of his reign ? 

438. To whom was he married ? 

439. Where did he die and where was he buried ? 

440. Who was Katherine of Valois' second husband ? 

441. To whom was their eldest son married ? 

442. How did Henry V. commence his reign ? 

443. Who suffered persecution under this king ? 

444. Where was Lord Cobham burned 1 

445. When did Henry determine to invade France ? 

446. What conspiracy was discovered previous to his de- 

parture ? 

447. Where did Henry land 1 

448. Why did he undertake this expedition 1 

449. How long did the siege of Harfleur last ? 

450. When was the battle of Azincourt fought ? 



104 

451. Who were victorious ? 

452. What followed this great battle ? 

453. When did Henry invade France a second time ? 

454. What city was cajrtured after a long siege ? 

455. Give the terms of the treaty of Troyes. 

456. From whence arose the custom of lighting the streets 

of London ? 

457. Who was Sir Richard Whittington, and why has he 

a place in "nursery classics?" 

458. What was the parentage of Henry VI.? 

459. To whom was he married ? 

460. What was the name of their only sou, and whom did 

he marry ? 

461. How and where did Edward of Lancaster die ? 

462. Where was Henry VI. murdered ? 

463. Where was he interred, and to what chapel were his 

remains afterwards removed ? 

464. What was Henry's character ? 

465. What does the poet Gray call him ? 

466. What was the character of Margaret of Anjou ? 

467. Relate the history of Margaret after the downfall of the 

Lancastrians ? 

468. In what brief sentence did she sum up her experience 

of life ? 

469. Who was appointed Regent upon the death of 

Henry V.? 

470. To whom was James I. of Scotland married ? 

471. When did Charles VI. of France die ? 

472. Who asserted his claims to the throne ? 

473. What occurred in 1428. 

474. Who raised the siege of Orleans? 

475. Who was Joan of Arc ? 

476. Where was Charles VII. crowned? 
477 When was Joan of Arc taken prisoner ? 

478. Of what was she accused ? 

479. Who condemned her to death ? 



105 

480. Where did she suffer the penalty of this cruel sentence ? 

481. When did Bedford die ? 

482. What effect had his death upon the English arms in 

France ? 

483. Did Mary make a politic marriage 1 

484. What occurred in 1447 ? 

485. What happened to the Duke of Suffolk ? 

486. Describe the insurrection of Jack Cade. 

487. How did it end? 

488. Who took up arms in 1452 ? 

489. What are these civil wars called, and why ? 

490. Who were victorious at the first battle of St. Albans ? 

491. Did the king at that time remain a prisoner in the 

hands of the Duke of York ? 

492. What was the result of the Battle of Northampton ? 

493. What decision was made by Parliament? 

494. What battle was fought in December, 1460 ? 

495. Who were victorious ? 

496. Who were slain in this battle ? 

497. How did Margaret treat her fallen foe ? 

498. What did she do after the battle ? 

499. Which party gained the second battle of St. Albans 1 

500. Who was proclaimed king in March, 1461 ? 

501. How long did Henry VI. live after his deposition ? 

502. For what was Joan of Arc distinguished ? 

503. What modern poets have celebrated her memory ? 

504. What is one of the most beautiful tributes to this 

heroic woman ? 

505. What can you say of London Stone ? 

506. Where were the badges of the Roses chosen? 

507. Who was the most powerful baron of this period? 

508. What is he called ? 

509. What was the badge of Warwick ? 

510. What colleges did Henry VI. found ? 

511. What college was founded by Margaret of Anjou ? 

10* 



106 

51 2. How many sor.s did the Duke of York leave, and name 
them ? 

513. Give the dates of the reign of Edward TV. 

514. What was his parentage ? 

515. To whom was he married? 

516 Name their sons and eldest daughter. 

517. Where did Edward IV. die? 

518. Where was he buried, and who lies by his side? 

519. When was the battle of Towton fought ? 

520. Where did Margaret go after this defeat? 

521. What battle was fought in May, 1464 ? 

522. Relate an incident which occurred to Margaret and 

her son after this battle. 

523. What gave great offence to Warwick ? 

524. How did he resent it? 

525. How did Warwick strengthen his alliance with Mar- 

garet of Anjou 1 

526. When did Warwick land at Dartmouth ? 

527. By what was this followed 1 

528. What occurred at the battle of Barnet 1 

529. What battle decided the fate of the Lancastrians? 

530. What became of Prince Edward ? 

531. What became of the Duke of Clarence ? 

532. What preparations was Edward IV. making at the 

time of his death 1 

533. By whom was printing introduced into England? 

534. What was the first book printed in England 1 

535. Who was Edward V. ? 

536. Where was he murdered ? 

537. When were his remains discovered ? 

538. What was the length of this reign ? 

539. Who had been nominated Regent by Edward IV. 1 

540. How did he use his power ? 

541. Where did the queen and her other children find refuge? 

542. Where were the young princes smothered ? 
643. Where were their remains at first interred ? 



107 

544. What is the date of the accession of Richard III ? 

545. Whose son was he ] 

546. Whom did he marry ? 

547. Where was Richard killed ? 

548. Had he any children ? 

549. W T ho was at this time the representative of the House 

of Lancaster ? 

550. What right had he to this claim ? 

551. What did the Earl of Richmond agree to do ] 

552. Who headed the conspiracy in England? 

553. What matrimonial arrangements did Richard propose 

to make after the death of Anne of Warwick ? 

554 How was this marriage prevented ? 

555. When did the battle of Bosworth take place ? 

556. Why was this battle so important in its results? 

557. To what battle may it be compared 1 

558. Relate the story connected with Richard's crown. 

559. To what proverb did this give rise ? 

560. How many sovereigns were there of the House of 

Plantagenet 1 

561. How many in the direct line % 

562. How many of the House of Lancaster 1 

563. How many of the House of York ? 

564. Name the Plantagenet kings and give the dates of their 

reigns. 

565. Which of the Plantagenet kings were particularly 

noted for their love of war and conquest 1 

566. Which were very weak sovereigns ? 

567. What House succeeded to that of Plantagenet? 

568. Who was Henry VI1 1 

569. Why was he induced to marry Elizabeth of York ? 

570. Name his children. 

571. To whom was Margaret married ? 

572. To whom was Mary married? 

573. Where was Henry VII. buried 1 



10S 

574. Who reposes by his side ? 

575. What was the character of this sovereign '. 

576. By what two passions was he swayed? 

577. What title was assumed by Lambert Simnel ? 
57 s . By whom was he supported ? 

579. How did Heury quell the rebellion ? 

550. How was Simnel punished? 

551. What new Pretender made his appearance in 1492? 

552. What was his origin ? 

553. By whom was he acknowledged? 

554. How did Henry buy off James of Scotlaud ? 
585. What followed? 

55'3. What became of the young Earl of Warwick? 
5S7. How was the rest of Henry's reign spent ? 

555. Who were his agents? 

559. To whom was Arthur, Prince of Wales, married? 

590. What negotiations followed the death of that prince? 

591. How was Henry regarded by his subjects ? 

592. What change took place in the state of society at about 

this period ? 

593. What discovery was made in 1492 ? 

594. What was the result of the first English expedition to 

the Xew World, and by whom was it commanded ? 
595 What was the Star Chamber? 

596. When did Henry VTII. begin to reign ? 

597. Name his wives 

59 5. Name his children. 

599. Where did Henry die, and where was he burie 
tiOiX What was the character of Henry VIII. ? 
601. In what respect did he show great ability f 

602 What monument did Henry erect to the memory of 

Katherine of Arragon ? 

603 Where was Anne Boleyn beheaded ? 

604. Where was she buried, aud what is the tradition con- 
nected with her interment ? 



109 

605. Which of Henry's wives reposes beside her husband ? 

606. Where did Anne of Cleves die? 

607. Where was Katherine Howard beheaded and buried ? 

608. To whom was Katherine Parr married after the death 

of Henry? 

609. Under what circumstances did Henry VIII. commence 

his reign ? 

610. How were Dudley and Empson punished ? 

611. How was Henry drawn into a war with France ? 

612. What two memorable battles took place in 1513? 

613. What was the result of the battle of Flodden ? 

614. Who was at this time the favourite of the King ? 

615. Name two great contemporaries of Henry. 

616. What two royal meetings took place in 1519. 

617. Why did Henry obtain the title of Defender of the 

Faith? 

618. What was Wolsey's greatest ambition ? 

619. What caused his fall? 

620. Who succeeded him in the King's favour ? 

621. Upon what plea did Henry divorce Katherine of 

Arragon ? 

622. To what did this divorce lead f 

623. Under whose suggestion did Henry act? 

624. What title was given him in 1534 by Act of Parlia- 

ment ? 

625. Why were Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher 

executed ? 

626. How did Cranmer obtain the notice of the King ? 

627. To what high office was he exalted? 

628. What proposals did he make with reference to the 

monasteries ? 

629. Was this wise policy adopted? 

630. To what did the innovations in the Church lead? 

631. How was Henry induced to marry Anne of Cleves? 

632. What did Anne of Cleves do after her divorce ? 



110 

633. What caused the death of James V. of Scotland 1 

634. Whom did he leave as his heir? 

635. Mention one of the last acts of Henry's life. 
636 What was the fate of Surrey 1 

637. How did the Duke of Norfolk escape the same death ? 

638. What was Wolsey's origin % 

639. What great monument still "speaks his virtue" at 

Oxford % 

640. Where did he die 1 

641. When is the Reformation usually dated % 

642. Is this strictly correct % 

643. Who translated the first Bible entire into English 1 

644. When was Cranmer's Bible published ? 

645. Name some of the celebrated literary men of this 

period 1 

646. Who was Hans Holbein 1 

647. What celebrated school in London was founded during 

this reign ? 

648. When did Edward VI. succeed to the throne] 

649. At what age did he die % 

650. Why was his early death much regretted % 

651. Who was appointed Protector upon the death of Henry 

VIII.? 

652. Why did Somerset lead an army in Scotland ? 

653. What battle was fought and with what success % 

654. To whom was Mary Stuart afterwards married ? 

655. What Act of Parliament was passed in 1549 1 

656. What is the Book of Common Prayer ? 

657. Who greatly aided in compiling this work, and what 

else did he frame 1 

658. Who steadfastly opposed the Reformers ? 

659. What led to the fall of Seymour ? 

660. Who formed a confederacy against Somerset ? 

661. What was the fate of the Protector 1 

662. How did the Duke of Northumberland use his power 1 

663. What claim had Lady Jane Grey to the throne ? 



Ill 

664. Why was Northumberland particularly interested in 

her advancement ? 

665. How did Edward VI. close his life ? 

666. What is Christ's Hospital ? 

667. By whom was the Book of Homilies compiled ? 

668. Whose daughter was Mary I.? 

669. How long did she reign ? 

670. To whom was she married ? 

671. Where is she buried ? 

672. What followed the death of Edward VI.? 

673. What became of Northumberland and his associates? 

674. What efforts did Mary make to restore the supremacy 

of Home ? 

675. How was Mary's marriage regarded by her subjects ? 

676. Give an account of Wyatt's insurrection ? 

677. To what executions did it lead ? 

678. Of what was the princess Elizabeth accused ? 

679. How was she treated ? 

680. Who was sent as legate from the Pope in 1554, and 

with what authority ? 

681. How did Mary obtain her abhorrent title ? 

682. How many persons are said to have been martyred 

during these persecutions ? 

683. Name some of the most eminent martyrs. 

684. What does Fuller say of these worthies ? 

685. Who was made Archbishop of Canterbury on the death 

of Cranmer? 

686. What war did Philip induce Mary to undertake ? 

687. With what disastrous result did it terminate ? 

688. How did this affect the Queen ? 

689. When did Cardinal Pole die ? 

690. What may be said in extenuation of Mary's character ? 

691. What distinction is there between her character and 

that of her father ? 

692. When did Elizabeth ascend the throne ? 



112 

693. Which of Henry's queens was the mother of Elizabeth? 

694. Where did she die, and where was she buried ? 

695. Who erected a monument to her memory ? 

696. What can you say of Elizabeth's character? 

697. What is the greatest blot on her memory ? 

698. Can any extenuation be offered for her course ? 

699. How was Elizabeth's accession received by her 

subjects ? 

700. Who was her chief adviser ? 

701 What very important steps were taken in regard to 
the Church ? 

702. Did the nation acquiesce in this change ? 

703. What was Elizabeth's decision in respect to matri- 

mony? 

704. Mention some of the chief suitors for the crown matri- 

monial. 

705. What occurred in Scotland in 1658 ? 

706. Where did Marie Stuart seek refuge ? 

707. Where did she land ? 

708. How did Elizabeth receive her appeal for protection 

and aid? 

709. Where was the Scottish queen finally imprisoned ? 

710. How long did her imprisonment last ? 

711. What efforts were made for her release? 

712. How did her sad history terminate ? 

713. How did Philip II. menace England, and when ? 

714. Who commanded the royal navy ? 

715. What eminent men served under him ? 

716. How did the Queen encourage the army ? 

717. What was the result of this formidable invasion ? 

718. What expedition was undertaken in 1596, and how 

did it terminate ? 

719. What insurrection occurred in 1599 ? 

720. What appointment was given to the Earl of Essex ? 

721. How did he fulfil his trust? 



113 

722. Why did he not regain the Queen's favour ? 

723. Where was he beheaded ? 

724. Who accepted the office Essex had vacated in Ireland? 

725. What success had he in that country ? 

726. Did Elizabeth appoint a successor ? 

727. Who founded the Royal Exchange? 

728. How were the English dominions much extended 

during this reign ? 

729. What was founded in 1600? 

730. For what is this reign chiefly remarkable ? 

731. Mention some of the great statesmen of this period. 

732. Mention some eminent prose writers and poets. 

733. What College was founded by Elizabeth ? 

734. What public school did she establish? 

735. How many Tudor sovereigns were there? 

736. Give their names and the dates of their reigns. 

737. What House succeeded that of Tudor? 

738. Who was the first Stuart King of England? 

739. What claim had he to the throne ? 

740. To whom was he married? 

741. Mention his children. 

742. To whom was his daughter Elizabeth married? 

743. W^here did James I, die, and where was he buried ? 

744. What epigram illustrates his character ? 

745. What was his personal appearance 1 

746. By whom was he influenced ? 

747. W T hat great qualities did he show on his death bed? 

748. What was James's character as a sovereign? 

749. Who was made prime minister on James's accession ? 

750. How did this create dissatisfaction ? 

751. Upon what accusation was Raleigh arrested ? 

752. How long did he remain a prisoner ? 

753. What was the Gunpowder Plot ? 

754. How was it revealed ? 

755. Who was the chief conspirator ? 

II 



114 

756. What penalty did the conspirators suffer for their 

crime ? 

757. What occurred in 1612 ? 

758. Whom did the king take as his favourite on the death 

of Cecil ? 

759. What dignity was bestowed upon him ? 

760. How did he fall into disgrace ? 

761. How did James show his fondness for the new fa- 

vourite ? 

762. Why was Sir Walter Raleigh released from his long 

imprisonment ? 

763. Upon what pretext was he re-arrested ? 

764. Where was he executed ? 

765. To what position had the Elector Palatine been raised ? 

766. Were the English People favourable to his cause ? 

767. Did the king accede to their wishes? 

768. What losses did the unfortunate Elector sustain? 

769. Why was James at constant variance with his Parlia- 

ment ? 

770. What matrimonial scheme did the King propose for 

his son Charles ? 

771. What romantic journey was undertaken by the Prince 

and Buckingham ? 

772. Why was this alliance broken off? 

773. What negotiations for another marriage were then 

entered upon ? 

774. Which were the two principal colonies settled in Amer- 

ica during this reign ? 

775. Give the dates of both settlements. 

776. What charter was renewed by James ? 

777. When was the authorized version of the Bible pub- 

lished ? 

778. What can you say of this work ? 

779. Who was Francis Bacon ? 

780. Why was he disgraced from his high office? 



115 

781. What was the sad history of Elizabeth, daughter of 

James I.? 

782. Who were her sons? 

783. How is she the ancestress of the present line of sover- 

eigns ? 

784. Repeat the rhyme that fixes the date of the Gunpow- 

der Plot upon the memory. 

785. What is the date of the accession of Charles I.? 

786. Whom did he marry ? 

787. Which of his sons came to the throne ? 

788. To whom was his daughter Mary married ? 

789. To whom was the Princess Henrietta married? 

790. Where was Charles beheaded ? 

791. Where was the Royal Martyr interred ? 

792. What was Charles' private character ? 

793. What was his character as a sovereign ] 

794. What was the greatest fault of his reign ? 

795. Who ministered to the king during his last moments ? 

796. What were the last words Charles uttered ? 

797. How was the 30th Jany. formerly observed? 

798. When was this practice given up ? 

799. Where did Henrietta Maria remain during her hus- 

band's troubles ? 

800. Where did she reside after the restoration 1 

801. Where did she die 

802. By whom was her funeral oration pronounced? 

803. Where was she buried ? 

804. When was the marriage of Charles with Henrietta 

Maria concluded 1 

805. What occurred on the assembling of the new Parlia- 

ment 1 

806. How did Charles act on their refusal ? 

807. What charge did the next Parliament prefer against 

Buckingham ? 

808. How did the King indemnify him for this prosecution ? 



116 

809. What expedition was fitted out in 1627 ? 

810. How did it terminate ? 

811. Upon what condition did Parliament grant the King 

supplies ] 

812. How did Charles act 1 

813. What was the fate of the Duke of Buckingham ? 

814. To whom was the expedition to La Rochelle then in- 

trusted 1 

815. How did it end? 

816. What is said of the Parliament of 1629 ? 

817. What was the principal question at issue ? 

818. Who began his political career during this session ? g 

819. Why was the Parliament dissolved ? 

820. What did Charles then do ? 

821. How long did this absolute government continue ? 
822 Who was placed over civil affairs ? 

823. Who was head in spiritual matters ? 

824. What is said of the Star Chamber during this period ? 

825. How did Charles raise money ? 

826. Was this measure well received ? 

827. Who was the first to protest? 

828. Where and how was the course decided ? 

829. To what was Hampden exalted by public opinion ? 

830. What did Charles endeavour to establish in Scotland 1 
831 What did the Presbyterians do ? 

8b2. What was Charles obliged to do in 1640 ? 

833. Did it relieve him in his difficulties ? 

834. By whom were the Scotch commanded ? 

835. What did they do? 

836. What was the decision of the Council of York ? 

837. What name is given to the Parliament that assembled 

Nov. 1640 ? 

838. Who was impeached by the Commons ? 

839. What occurred to Laud a few days afterwards ? 

840. Where was Stafford tried ? 

841 . How was his sentence received by the king ? 



117 

842. Did he give his assent to the bill 1 

843. What did Stafford exclaim when told of the king's de- 

cision ? 

844. What was abolished at this time ? 

845. What injured the king's cause in Scotland 1 

846. When did the king and Parliament come to an open 

rupture ? 

847. To what place did Charles retire 1 

848. What was the conduct of the Governor of Hull when 

Charles demanded admission into the town ? 

849. Where did the king raise his standard 1 

850. By whom was Charles supported? 

851. What classes sided with the Parliament? 

852. Name some of the royal leaders. 

853. Mention the principal commanders of the Parliamen- 

tarian forces. 

854. When and where was the first engagement fought ? 

855. Where did Charles fix his head-quarters? 

856. Where was Hampden killed? 
857 With whom did the Scots side 1 

858. Where was Prince Rupert totally defeated ? 

859. How did this affect the king ? 

860. When was Archbishop Laud executed 1 ? 

861. When and where was the king's last battle fought ? 

862. What became of his army ? 

863. What completed the ruin of the royalists? 

864. Where did the king seek refuge ? 

865. How did the Scots betray his trust in them ? 

866. What was the price for which they sold their king? 

867. Where was Charles conveyed after the sale ? 

868. Were his enemies at peace amongst themselves? 

869. To what place was he removed ? 

870. To what castle did he escape from there 1 

871. How did Cromwell prepare the way for the king'e= 

condemnation ? 
11* 



118 

872. What was "Prides Purge ?" 

873. To what other castles was Charles taken from Caris- 

brooke 1 

874. By what authority was he tried ? 

875. When was he beheaded ? 

876. What name was assumed by the Royalists during the 

civil wars ? 

877. What were the Parliamentarians called? 

878. Who was William Harvey ? 

879. Mention two eminent divines of this period. 

880. Who was Ben Jonson 1 

881. What proclamation was made on the day of Charles's 

execution ? 

882. What resolution was passed by the House of Com- 

mons ? 

883. What office was given to Cromwell ? 

884. Whom did he appoint as his deputy, when obliged to 

go to Scotland ? 

885. What stand did the Scots take ? 

886. What was Charles Stuart's position in Scotland ? 

887. Who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Par- 

liamentarian forces ? 

888. Where were the Scots defeated ? 

889. When and where was Charles crowned ? 

890. When was the battle of Worcester fought ? 

891. With what result to Charles? 

892. Who were in command of the navy ? 

893. What victories did they gain ? 

894. What extraordinary step did Cromwell take in 1653 ? 

895. By what was the Long Parliament succeeded ? 
896 To what office was Cromwell raised ? 

897. What was the condition of the Republic abroad ? 

898. Were affairs at home equally prosperous ? 

899. To what did Cromwell aspire ? 

900. What shortened his days ? 



119 

901. When and where did he die % 

902. Who was immediately proclaimed Protector % 

903. Was he qualified for the position? 

904. What was restored on his abdication ? 

905. Who was in command of the army in Scotland 1 

906. What course did he adopt ? 

907. How was his proposal received 1 

908. When was Charles II. proclaimed ? 

909. Who was Jeremy Taylor 1 

910. Mention some prominent English divines of this period. 

911. Who were eminent as poets ? 

912. Who was Sir Matthew Hale 1 

913. Who was Izaak Walton I 

914. Mention the great literary genius of the age. 

915. Where was Oliver Cromwell born ? 

916. To what did he chiefly owe his success ? 

917. What is said of his peculiarities ? 

918. What was the most amiable trait of his character ? 

919. Did his children sympathize with his ambition 1 

920. Where was Cromwell buried ? 

921. How were his remains treated after the Restoration % 

922. What became of Richard Cromwell after his resigna- 

tion 1 

923. Whose son was Charles II. 1 

924. To whom was he married l 

925. Where did he die, and where was he buried ? 

926. What was his character 1 

927. What epigram did Rochester write on Charles II. 1 

928. What became of Catherine of Braganza after the 

Revolution of 1688 1 

929. Whom did Charles choose as chancellor and keeper of 

the great Seal ? 

930. What was the act of Indemnity] 

931. What was done in reference to Dunkirk in 1668 1 

932. What was declared in 1665 ? 



120 

933. Who commanded the British Fleet 1 

934. What occurred in the same year, 1665 ? 

935. By what calamity was this followed in 1666 1 

936. What happened in 1667 ? 

937. What was concluded soon afterwards? 

938. What was the chief advantage which the English had 

gained during the war ? 

939 What was the the cause of Clarendon's disgrace ? 

940. What ministry was then formed ? 

941. What is the origin of the name % 

942. Why was "the triple alliance" formed ? 

943. What important act was passed at this time ? 

944. Why was it proposed to exclude the Duke of York 

from the succession % 

945. What conspiracies were formed during this reign 1 

946. Who was the most lamented of the condemned con- 

spirators ? 

947. In what faith did Charles die ? 

948. How has his character been briefly summed up 1 

949. What writers give us a graphic picture of the court 

life of this reign ? 

950. Who was Sir Christopher Wren ? 

951. What is the Fish-street-hill monument 1 

952. What Hospital did Charles found 1 

953. When and by whom was Pennsylvania settled ? 

954. Who succeeded Charles II. % 

955. Whose son was he 1 

956. Who was his first wife 1 

957. Name their two daughters. 

958. Who was James's second wife 1 

959. Who was their son and what is he called in history ] 

960. Where did James die, and where was he buried 1 

961. Where were his remains removed in 1813 1 

962. What was the character of James II. ? 



121 

963. By whom was he received after his expulsion from 

England ? 

964. How did James commence his reign 1 

965. Who raised a rebellion in the west of England ? 

966. What was his fate ? 

967. By whom were his followers tried ? 

968. Relate the sad fate of Alice Lisle. 

969. What measures did James adopt to restore the Papacy ? 

970. Name the seven Bishops who were sent to the Tower 

by James ? 

971. How were the Bishops encouraged in their passage 

down the Thames ? 

972. What was the result of the trial ? 

973. What occurred in 1688 ? 

974. Where did William of Orange land 1 

975. By whom was he joined 1 

976. What did James do 1 

977. Who was William of Orange ? 

978. Who reigned jointly with him, and whose daughter 

was she ? 

979. How long did William survive the queen 1 

980. Where did they die and where were they buried ? 

981. What was the interregnum? 

982. When were William and Mary proclaimed king and 

queen 1 

983. Were the new sovereigns accepted by the Scots? 

984. What was the state of feeliag in Ireland ? 

985. How did James take advantage of this ? 

986. What can you say of the siege of Derry ? 

987. What were James's followers called ? 

988. Who took the field in person? 

989. When was the battle of the Boyne fought? 

990. Who was killed in this battle ? 

991. What Bill was passed about this time ? 

992. What statute was enacted ? 



122 

993. What did William do when the Irish campaign was 

closed ? 

994. Who commanded this expedition ? 

995. What treaty was signed in 1697 ? 

996. When did James die ? 

997. What did Louis XIV. immediately do? 

998. How did William act in consequence? 

999. What caused his death ? 

1000. Did Mary II. have much part in the affairs of the 

Government ? 

1001. What Act of Parliament was passed on the death of 

the Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving son of 
the Princess Anne ? 

1002. What palace was destroyed during this reign? 

1003. Was any portion of it saved? 

1004. What two great societies were founded through the 

instrumentality of Dr. Thomas Bray ? 

1005. How are they familiarly known ? 

1006. What great men flourished at this period ? 

1007. Why did Peter the Great sojourn in England 1 

1008. In whose house did he lodge for some time ? 

1009. Whose daughter was Queen Anne ? 

1010. To whom was she married ? 

1011. Had she any children % 

1012. Where did Anne die, and where was she buried ? 

1013. What was her character ? 

1014. Who were her two great favourites ? 

1015. What title has been given to Anne % 

1016. With what war did Anne's reign commence ? 

1017. What three powers were allied against France ? 

1018. Who commanded the English forces? 

1019. What famous victory did he gain with the aid of 

Prince Eugene 1 

1020. How was he rewarded by his sovereign ? 



123 

1021. What token of gratitude was shown him by the 

nation ? 

1022. Who took the fortress of Gibralter ? 

1023. When were England and Scotland united ? 

1024. Under what name ? 

1025. How were they to be represented ? 

1026. What other victories were gained by Marlborough ? 

1027. What happened to him afterwards ? 

1028. What peace was concluded in 1713 ? 

1029. What territories did Great Britain gain by this 

treaty ? 

1030. What is the reign of Queen Anne sometimes called? 

1031. Who originated periodical writing? 

1032. In what did Dean Swift excel? 

1033. Who was Alexander Pope ? 

1034. Who was John Locke ? 

1035. What is meant by the terms Whig and Tory? 

1036. What exciting trial occurred in 1710 ? 

1037. How long was the Cathedral of St. Paul's in re- 

building ? 

1038. How many sovereigns were there of the House of 

Stuart ? 

1039. Give their names and the dates of their reigns, 

1040. How long did the Commonwealth last? 

1041. What House succeeded to that of Stuart ? 

1042. Who was the first king of the line ? 

1043. What claim had he to the British throne ? 

1044. To whom was he married ? 

1045. Name his children. 

1046. Where did George I. die, and where is he buried? 
1047 What was his character ] 

1048. What was the fate of Sophia Dorothea? 

1049. With which political party did the king assimilate l 

1050. What measures were taken against several prominent 

Tories I 



124 

1051. Why was the Riot Act Passed ? 

1052. By what name was James Edward, the Pretender, 

known ? 

1053. Who raised the Pretender's standard in the High- 

lands ? 

1054. Where were the Jacobites of the North of England 

defeated ? 

1055. When did the Pretender land in Scotland ? 

1056. Who commanded the forces of the King ? 

1057. "What became of the Pretender ? 

1058. What Act was passed in 1716 ? 

1059. What victory was gained by Admiral Byng 1 

1060. What was the Quadruple alliance f 

1061. What financial crisis occurred in 1720 ? 

1062. What order was revived in this reign ? 

1063. By whom was inoculation introduced into England? 

1064. Who was Sir Robert Walpole ? 

1065. By whom was George I. succeeded ? 

1066. To whom was he married ? 

1067. Name his sons. 

1068. To whom was Frederick, Prince of Wales, married ? 

1069. Where did George II. die, and where was he buried ? 

1070. What was his character ? 

1071. What is said of Queen Caroline ? 

1072. What domestic difficulty occurred in 1737 ? 

1073. By what was this soon after followed ? 

1074. How were the commercial interests of England seri- 

ously affected ? 

1075. To what did this lead? 

1076. What was the Pragmatic Sanction? 

1077. Whose cause did England espouse? 

1078. By whom was the battle of Dettingen fought? 

1079. Where did the allies meet with a serious reverse ? 

1080. Wha; attempt was made by Charles Edward, the 

Pretender, in 1744 ? 



125 

1081. How did he carry out his plans the following year? 

1082. Where did he raise his standard ? 

1083. Where did he gain an inconsiderable victory ? 

1084. How far did he penetrate into England ? 

1085. Where was he finally defeated, and by whom ? 

1086. What afterwards became of the Pretender ? 

1087. What lords were beheaded on Tower Hill ? 

1088. What peace was concluded in 1748 i 

1089. What war broke out in 1755 ? 

1090. To what great contest did it lead ? 
1091- Where was General Braddock defeated ? 

1092. Who was his aid-de-camp ? 

1093. What was the fate of Admiral Byng ? 

1094. What victories were gained by Lord Clive I 

1095. Who was at the head of the ministry in 1758 ? 

1096. What plan did he sketch out ? 

1097. Who was the hero of Quebec ? 

1098. What followed his great victory ? 

1099. What was the military condition of England at the 

death of George II.? 

1100. What is meant by Old and New Style ? 

1101. Who was the author of the "Beggar's Opera ?" 

1102. Mention a celebrated Scotch physician who lived 

during this reign. 
1103- Who was the author of the "Seasons?" 

1104. Who wrote the Analogy? 

1105. What is is said of Bishop Berkeley ? 

1106. Who was Thomas Gray ? 

1107. What was General Wolfe's eulogy on Gray's Elegy ? 

1108. What was the Black Hole of Calcutta ? 

1109. Whose son was George III.? 

1110. To whom was he married ? 

1111. Mention his sons. 

1112. Where did George die, and where was he buried ? 

1113. What was his character ? 

12 



126 

1114. What advantage did he possess over his predecessors ? 

1115. With what was George afflicted at different times ? 

1116. Who supplanted Pitt in the ministry ? 

1117. What terminated the Seven Years' War ? 

1118. What were secured to Great Britain by this treaty ? 

1119. How did John Wilkes become notorious? 

1120. What Act was passed by Parliament in 1765 ? 

1 121 . How was it received in America ? 

1122. Who was Patrick Henry? 

1123. How was the power of the government weakened ? 

1124. What memorable event took place July 4th, 1776 ? 

1125. By whom were the Americans aided in this war? 

1126. Who was La Fayette ? 

1127. Who was commander-in-chief of the A merican forces I 

1128. How was the Revolutionary war terminated ? 

1 1 29. When was the siege of Gibraltar raised ? 

1130. When and where was the "Royal George" lost? 

1131. W 7 hat treaty was signed at Versailles in 1783 ? 

1132. When did the Revolution break out in France % 

1133. When was Louis XVI. executed? 

1134. Against whom did France declare war? 

1135. Who commanded the English navy? 

1136. What was England's position after the peace of Cam- 

pio Formio ? 

1137. What country did Napoleon invade in 1798 ? 

1138. Who was sent out against the French % 

1139. What great naval victory did he gain ] 

1140. When was the union of Great Britain and Ireland 

proclaimed ? 

1141. What rapid advances were made by Napoleon ? 

1 142. When was the battle of Trafalgar fought ? 

1143. With what result ? 

1144. What was the purport of the Berlin decrees? 

1145. What measures were adopted by England ? 

1146. What important events had transpired in Spain? 

1147. Did the English respond to an appeal for aid? 



127 

1148. By whom were the British troops commanded? 

1149. What battle was fought in January, 1809 ] 

1150. Why was the Prince of Wales appointed Regent in 

1810? 

1151. What was the fate of Mr. Perceval, the Prime Min- 

ister ? 

1152. How did the Peninsular war end? 

1153. When did Napoleon retreat from Moscow ? 

1154. When did the allies enter Paris? 

1155. To what humiliating steps was the Emperor forced? 

1156. What was the place of his banishment? 

1157. Relate some particulars of the American war of 1812. 

1158. Where was a treaty of peace signed ? 

1159. How was the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, brought 

to an abrupt close ? 

1160. What memorable battle brought Napoleon's military 

career to a close '? 

1161. Who was the hero of this battle ? 

1162. Who commanded the Prussian army? 

1163. What was done with Napoleon? 

1164. To whom was the Princess Charlotte married? 

1165. When did the Duke of Kent die ? 

1166. Why is this reign particularly memorable ? 

1167. What were the most important inventions and dis- 

coveries of this reign ? 

1 168. Mention some great poets of the age. 

1169. Who was Lord Chesterfield ? 

1170. Who was Dr. Johnson ? 

1171. Name two eminent painters of that time ? 

1172. How was Edmund Burke distinguished? 

1173. Why was John Howard remarkable? 

1174. Who was George IV? 

1175. To whom was he married 1 

1 176 Name his only child ? 

1177 Where was she buried ? 



128 

1178. Where did George die, and where was he buried? 

1179. What was George TV's character ? 

1180. What can you say of Princess Charlotte's residence, 

Clareraont % 

1181. What plot was discovered early in this reign? 

1182. What was the principal cause of the death of Queen 

Caroline ? 

1183. When was the battle of Navarino fought ? 

1184. What advantages did it obtain for Greece ] 

1185. What Act was passed in 1829? 

1186. Who was William IV. % 

1187. To whom was he married ? 

1188. Where did he die and where was he buried ? 

1189. What celebrated bill was passed in 1832? 

1190. How was its opposition in the House of Peers re- 

ceived by the people ? 

1191. What occurred in 1834? 

1192. When was the first railway opened in England? 

1193. Whose daughter is Victoria, the reigning Queen? 

1194. To whom was she married ? 

1195. What title did he receive ? 

1196. Name the Queen's children. 

1197. To whom is the Princess Royal married % 

1198. Who is heir apparent to the throne ? 

1199. To whom is the Princess Alice married % 

1200. What title has been given to Prince Alfred ? 

1201. Who succeeded to the kingdom of Hanover on the 

death of William IV.? 

1202. Why did it pass from the English crown 1 

1203 When did the first steam-ship sail from England to 
America ? 

1204. What Exhibition was held in 1851 ? 

1205. By whom was it projected ? 

1206. When did the Duke of Wellington die 1 

1207. What war commenced in 1854 ? 



W 98 



129 

1208. With what did it terminate? 

1209. Where was a treaty of peace signed ? 

1210. What insurrection broke out in 1857 1 

1211. What change was afterwards made in the govern- 

ment of India ? 

1212. What occurred in I860? 

1213. How was he received during his visit ? 

1214. When did the Duchess of Kent die ? 

1215. What calamity befell the nation in December of the 

same year ? 

1216. When was the Prince of Wales married ? 

1217. Where did the ceremony take place? 

1218. Name the sovereigns of the House of Hanover and 

give the dates of their reign. 







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